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Chord (music)

Instruments and voices playing and singingdifferent notes create chords.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article describes pitch simultaneityand harmony in music. For othermeanings of the word, see Chord.

A chord, in music, is any harmonic set ofthree or more notes that is heard as ifsounding simultaneously.[1][2] These need notactually be played together: arpeggios andbroken chords may, for many practical andtheoretical purposes, constitute chords.Chords and sequences of chords arefrequently used in modern Western, WestAfrican[3] and Oceanian[4] music, whereasthey are absent from the music of many otherparts of the world.[5]

The most frequently encountered chords are triads, so called because they consist of threedistinct notes: further notes may be added to give seventh chords, extended chords, or addedtone chords. The most common chords are the major and minor triads and then the augmented

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C Major triad represented in staffnotation.

Play (help·info) in just intonation Play (help·info) in Equal

temperament

and diminished triads. The descriptions major, minor, augmented, and diminished are sometimesreferred to collectively as chordal quality. Chords are also commonly classed by their root note—so, for instance, the chord C major may be described as a triad of major quality built upon the noteC. Chords may also be classified by inversion, the order in which the notes are stacked.

A series of chords is called a chord progression. Although any chord may in principle be followedby any other chord, certain patterns of chords have been accepted as establishing key incommon-practice harmony. To describe this, chords are numbered, using Roman numerals,upwards from the key-note[6] (See diatonic function). Common ways of notating or representingchords[7] in western music other than conventional staff notation include Roman numerals, figuredbass (much used in the Baroque era), macro symbols (sometimes used in modern musicology),and various systems of chord charts typically found in the lead sheets used in popular music to layout the sequence of chords so that the musician may play accompaniment chords or improvise asolo.

Contents

1 Definition and history

2 Notation2.1 Roman numerals

2.2 Figured bass notation

2.3 Macro analysis

2.4 Tabular notation

3 Characteristics3.1 Number of notes

3.2 Scale degree

3.3 Inversion

3.4 Secundal, tertian, and quartal chords

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temperament Play (help·info) in 1/4-comma

meantone Play (help·info) in Young

temperament Play (help·info) in Pythagorean

tuning

Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition"Promenade", is a piece showing an explicit chordprogression.(Nattiez 1990, p. 218) Play (help·info)

3.5 Harmonic Content

4 Triads

5 Seventh chords

6 Extended chords

7 Altered chords

8 Added tone chords

9 Suspended chords

10 Borrowed chords

11 References

12 Sources

13 Further reading

14 External links

Definition and history [edit]

Main article: Harmony

The English word chord derives from MiddleEnglish cord, a shortening of accord[8] in theoriginal sense of agreement and later,harmonious sound.[9] A sequence of chords isknown as a chord progression or harmonicprogression. These are frequently used inWestern music.[5] A chord progression "aimsfor a definite goal" of establishing (orcontradicting) a tonality founded on a key,root or tonic chord.[6] The study of harmony involves chords and chord progressions, and the

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მარგალურიNederlands日本語

Norsk bokmålOʻzbekcha/ўзбекчаPolskiPortuguêsRomânăРусскийShqipSimple EnglishSlovenčinaSlovenščinaСрпски / srpskiSuomiSvenskaTürkçeУкраїнськаTiếng Việt粵語

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Upper stave: Claude Debussy's PremièreArabesque. The chords on the lower stave areconstructed from the notes in the actual piece, shownon the upper stave. Play (help·info)

principles of connection that govern them.[10]

Ottó Károlyi[11] writes that, "Two or more notes sounded simultaneously are known as a chord,"though, since instances of any given note in different octaves may be taken as the same note, it ismore precise for the purposes of analysis to speak of distinct pitch classes. Furthermore, as threenotes are needed to define any common chord, three is often taken as the minimum number ofnotes that form a definite chord. Hence Andrew Surmani, for example, (2004, p. 72) states, "Whenthree or more notes are sounded together, the combination is called a chord." George T. Jones(1994, p. 43) agrees: "Two tones sounding together are usually termed an interval, while three ormores tones are called a chord." According to Monath (1984, p. 37); "A chord is a combination ofthree or more tones sounded simultaneously," and the distances between the tones are calledintervals. However sonorities of two pitches, or even single-note melodies, are commonly heard asimplying chords.[12]

Since a chord may be understood as such even when all its notes are not simultaneously audible,there has been some academic discussion regarding the point at which a group of notes may becalled a chord. Jean-Jacques Nattiez (1990, p. 218) explains that, "We can encounter 'purechords' in a musical work," such as in the Promenade of Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at anExhibition but, "Often, we must go from a textual given to a more abstract representation of thechords being used," as in Claude Debussy's Première Arabesque.

In the medieval era, early Christian hymnsfeatured organum (which used thesimultaneous perfect intervals of a fourth, afifth, and an octave[13]), with chordprogressions and harmony an incidental resultof the emphasis on melodic lines during themedieval and then Renaissance (15-17th

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Тыва дыл

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on the upper stave. Play (help·info)

centuries).[7][14]

The Baroque period, the 17th and 18th centuries, began to feature the major and minor scalebased tonal system and harmony, including chord progressions and circle progressions.[7] It was inthe Baroque period that the accompaniment of melodies with chords was developed, as in figuredbass,[14] and the familiar cadences (perfect authentic, etc.).[15] In the Renaissance, certaindissonant sonorities that suggest the dominant seventh occurred with frequency.[16] In theBaroque period the dominant seventh proper was introduced, and was in constant use in theClassical and Romantic periods.[16] The leading-tone seventh appeared in the Baroque period andremains in use.[17] Composers began to use nondominant seventh chords in the Baroque period.They became frequent in the Classical period, gave way to altered dominants in the Romanticperiod, and underwent a resurgence in the Post-Romantic and Impressionistic period.[18]

The Romantic period, the 19th century, featured increased chromaticism.[7] Composers began touse secondary dominants in the Baroque, and they became common in the Romantic period.[19]

Many contemporary popular Western genres continue to rely on simple diatonic harmony, thoughfar from universally:[20] notable exceptions include the music of film scores, which often usechromatic, atonal or post-tonal harmony, and modern jazz (especially circa 1960), in which chordsmay include up to seven notes (and occasionally more).[21]

Triads consist of three notes; the root or first note, the third, and the fifth.[22] For example the Cmajor scale consists of the notes C D E F G A B: a triad can be constructed on any note of such amajor scale, and all are minor or major except the triad on the seventh or leading-tone, which is adiminished chord. A triad formed using the note C itself consists of C (the root note), E (the thirdnote of the scale) and G (the fifth note of the scale). The interval from C to E is of four semitones,a major third, and so this triad is called C Major. A triad formed upon the same scale but with D asthe root note, D (root), F (third), A (fifth), on the other hand, has only three semitones between theroot and third and is called D minor, a minor triad.

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C Major triad represented in staffnotation.

Notation [edit]

See also: Chord names and symbols (popular music)

Chords can be represented in various ways. The mostcommon notation systems are:[7]

1. Plain staff notation, used in classical music (seefigure).

2. Roman numerals, commonly used in harmonic analysisto denote the scale step on which the chord is built.[6]

See: Roman numeral analysis.

3. Figured bass, much used in the Baroque era, usesnumbers added to a bass line written on staff (music),to enable keyboard players to improvise chords withthe right hand while playing the bass with their left.

4. Macro symbols, sometimes used in modern musicology, to denote chord root and quality.

5. Various chord names and symbols used in popular music lead sheets, fake books, andchord charts, to quickly lay out the harmonic groundplan of a piece so that the musicianmay improvise, jam, or vamp on it.

Roman numerals [edit]

Main article: Roman numeral analysis

While scale degrees are typically represented with Arabicnumerals, the triads that have these degrees as their rootsare often identified by Roman numerals. In some

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vi-ii-V-I in C[23] Play (help·info).

conventions (as in this and related articles) upper-caseRoman numerals indicate major triads while lower-caseRoman numerals indicate minor triads: other writers, (e.g.Schoenberg) use upper case Roman numerals for bothmajor and minor triads. Some writers use upper-case Roman numerals to indicate the chord isdiatonic in the major scale, and lower-case Roman numerals to indicate that the chord is diatonicin the minor scale. Diminished triads may be represented by lower-case Roman numerals with adegree symbol. Roman numerals can also be used in stringed instrument notation to indicate theposition or string to play.

Figured bass notation [edit]

Main article: Figured bass

Figured bass or thoroughbass is a kind of musical notationused in almost all Baroque music, though rarely in modernmusic, to indicate harmonies in relation to a conventionallywritten bass line. Figured bass is closely associated withbasso continuo accompaniment. Added numbers andaccidentals beneath the staff indicate at the intervals toplay, the numbers stand for the number of scale stepsabove the written note to play the figured notes.

In the illustration the bass note is a C, and the numbers 4and 6 indicate that notes a fourth and a sixth above, that isF and A, should be played, giving the second inversion of

the F major triad.

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Macro analysis for triads on C.

Macro analysis [edit]

Main article: Macro analysis

Macro analysis uses upper-case and lower-case letters toindicate the roots of chords, followed by symbols thatspecify the chord quality.[7]

Tabular notation [edit]

Main article: Chord names and symbols (popular music)

In most genres of popular music, including jazz, pop, and rock, a chord name and thecorresponding symbol are typically composed of one or more of the following parts:

1. The root note (e.g. C).

2. The chord quality (e.g. major, maj, or M).

3. The number of an interval (e.g. seventh, or 7), or less often its full name or symbol (e.g.major seventh, maj7, or M7).

4. The altered fifth (e.g. sharp five, or ♯5).

5. An additional interval number (e.g. add 13 or add13), in added tone chords.

For instance, the name C augmented seventh, and the corresponding symbol Caug7, or C+7, areboth composed of parts 1, 2, and 3.

None of these parts, except for the root, directly refer to the notes forming the chord, but to theintervals they form with respect to the root. For instance, Caug7 is formed by the notes C-E-G♯-B♭. However, its name and symbol refer only to the root note C, the augmented (fifth) intervalfrom C to G♯, and the (minor) seventh interval from C to B♭. The interval from C to E (a majorthird) sets the chord quality (major). A set of decoding rules is applied to deduce the missinginformation.

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Chord qualities are related with the qualities of the component intervals that define the chord. Themain chord qualities are:

Major, and minor.

Augmented, diminished, and half-diminished.

Dominant.

Some of the symbols used for chord quality are similar to those used for interval quality:

m, or min for minor,

M , maj, or no symbol (see rule 2 below) for major,

aug for augmented,

dim for diminished.

In addition, however,

Δ is sometimes used for major,[24] instead of the standard M, or maj,

− is sometimes used for minor, instead of the standard m or min,

+, or aug, is used for augmented (A is not used),o, °, dim, is used for diminished (d is not used),ø, or Ø is used for half diminished,

dom is used for dominant.

Characteristics [edit]

Every chord has certain characteristics, which include:

Number of pitch classes (distinct notes without respect to octave) that constitute the chord.

Scale degree of the root note

Position or inversion of the chord

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Position or inversion of the chord

General type of intervals it appears constructed from—for example seconds, thirds, or fourths

Counts of each pitch class as occur between all combinations of notes the chord contains

Number of notes [edit]

Two-note combinations, whether referred to aschords or intervals, are called dyads. Chordsconstructed of three notes of some underlyingscale are described as triads. Chords of fournotes are known as tetrads, those containingfive are called pentads and those using six arehexads. Sometimes the terms trichord,tetrachord, pentachord, and hexachord are used—though these more usually refer to the pitchclasses of any scale, not generally playedsimultaneously. Chords that may contain morethan three notes include pedal point chords,dominant seventh chords, extended chords,added tone chords, clusters, and polychords.

Polychords are formed by two or more chords superimposed.[25] Often these may be analysed asextended chords (See: tertian, altered chord, secundal chord, quartal and quintal harmony andTristan chord). For example G7(♯11♭9) (G-B-D-F-A♭-C♯) is formed from G major (G-B-D) andD♭ major (D♭-F-A♭).[26] A nonchord tone is a dissonant or unstable tone that lies outside thechord currently heard, though often resolving to a chord tone.[27]

Scale degree [edit]

Number of notes Name Alternate name

1 Monad Monochord

2 Dyad Dichord

3 Triad Trichord

4 Tetrad Tetrachord

5 Pentad Pentachord

6 Hexad Hexachord

7 Heptad Heptachord

8 Octad Octachord

9 Ennead Nonachord

10 Decad Decachord

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C major scale play (help·info)

In the key of C major the first degree of the scale,called the tonic, is the note C itself, so a C majorchord, a triad built on the note C, may be called theone chord of that key and notated in Romannumerals as I. The same C major chord can be foundin other scales: it forms chord III in the key of Aminor (A-B-C) and chord IV in the key of G major(G-A-B-C). This numbering lets us see the job achord is doing in the current key and tonality.

Many analysts use lower-case Roman numerals toindicate minor triads andupper-case for major ones,and degree and plus signs (o and + ) to indicatediminished and augmentedtriads respectively. Otherwise all the numerals may be upper-case and the qualities of the chordsinferred from the scale degree. Chords outside the scale can be indicated by placing a flat/sharpsign before the chord — for example, the chord of E flat major in the key of C major is representedby ♭III. The tonic of the scale may be indicated to the left (e.g. F♯:) or may be understood from akey signature or other contextual clues. Indications of inversions or added tones may be omitted ifthey are not relevant to the analysis. Roman numerals indicate the root of the chord as a scaledegree within a particular major key as follows:

Inversion [edit]

Main article: Inversion (music)

Roman numeral Scale degree

I tonic

ii supertonic

iii mediant

IV subdominant

V dominant

vi submediant

viio / ♭VII leading tone / subtonic

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Root position, first inversion, and secondinversion C major chords

Play root position C major chord (help·info), Play first inversion C major chord (help·info), or Play second inversion C major chord (help·info).

Chord roots (all the same) in red.

Root position, first inversion, and secondinversion chords over C bass

Play root position C major chord (help·info), Play first inversion A minor chord (help·info), or Play second inversion F major chord (help·info).

Chord roots in red.

In the harmony of Western art music a chord is inroot position when the tonic note is the lowest inthe chord, and the other notes are above it. Whenthe lowest note is not the tonic, the chord isinverted. Chords, having many constituent notes,can have many different inverted positions asshown below for the C major chord:

Bassnote

PositionOrder

ofnotes

Notation

Croot

positionC E G

53 as G is a 5th above

C and E is a 3rdabove C

E1st

inversionE G C

63 as C is a 6th above

E and G is a 3rdabove E

G2nd

inversionG C E

64 as E is a 6th above

G and C is a 4thabove G

Further, a four-note chord can be inverted to four different positions by the same method as triadicinversion. Where guitar chords are concerned the term "inversion" is used slightly differently; torefer to stock fingering "shapes".[28]

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Quartal chord: C-F-B chord[29] Play (help·info).

Secundal, tertian, and quartal chords [edit]

See also: Secundal, Tertian, Quartal and quintal harmony and Mixed-interval chord

Manychords areasequenceofascendingnotes

separated by intervals of roughly the same size. Chordscan be classified into different categories by this size:

Tertian chords can be decomposed into a series of (major or minor) thirds. For example, the Cmajor triad (C-E-G) is defined by a sequence of two intervals, the first (C-E) being a major thirdand the second (E-G) being a minor third. Most common chords are tertian.

Secundal chords can be decomposed into a series of (major or minor) seconds. For example,the chord C-D-E♭ is a series of seconds, containing a major second (C-D) and a minorsecond (D-E♭).

Quartal chords can be decomposed into a series of (perfect or augmented) fourths. Quartalharmony normally works with a combination of perfect and augmented fourths. Diminishedfourths are enharmonically equivalent to major thirds, so they are uncommon.[30] For example,the chord C-F-B is a series of fourths, containing a perfect fourth (C-F) and an augmentedfourth/tritone (F-B).

These terms can become ambiguous when dealing with non-diatonic scales, such as thepentatonic or chromatic scales. The use of accidentals can also complicate the terminology. For

Chord Component intervals

Secundal 2nd's : major 2nd, minor 2nd

Tertian 3rd's : major 3rd, minor 3rd

Quartal 4th's : perfect 4th, augmented 4th

Quintal 5th's

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example, the chord B♯-E-A♭ appears to be a series of diminished fourths (B♯-E and E-A♭) but isenharmonically equivalent to (and sonically indistinguishable from) the chord C-E-G♯, which is aseries of major thirds (C-E and E-G♯).

Harmonic Content [edit]

The notes of a chord form intervals with each of the other notes of the chord in combination. A 3-note chord has 3 of these harmonic intervals, a 4-note chord has 6, a 5-note chord has 10, a 6-note chord has 15.[31] The absence, presence, and placement of certain key intervals plays alarge part in the sound of the chord, and sometimes of the selection of the chord that follows.

A chord containing tritones is called tritonic; one without tritones is atritonic. Harmonic tritones arean important part of Dominant seventh chords, giving their sound a characteristic tension, andmaking the tritone interval likely to move in certain stereotypical ways to the following chord.[32]

A chord containing semitones, whether appearing as Minor seconds or Major sevenths, is calledhemitonic; one without semitones is anhemitonic. Harmonic semitones are an important part ofMajor seventh chords, giving their sound a characteristic high tension, and making the harmonicsemitone likely to move in certain stereotypical ways to the following chord.[33] A chord containingMajor sevenths but no Minor seconds is much less harsh in sound than one containing Minorseconds as well.

Other chords of interest might include the

Diminished chord, which has many Minor thirds and no Major thirds, many Tritones but noPerfect fifths

Augmented chord, which has many Major thirds and no Minor thirds or Perfect fifths

Dominant seventh flat five chord, which has many Major thirds and Tritones and no Minor thirdsor Perfect fifths

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Pitch constellations of triads

Triads [edit]

Mainarticle:Triad(music)See also:Jazz andpopnotationfor triads

Triads, alsocalled triadicchords, are tertian chords (see above) with three notes. The four basic triads are described below.

Componentintervals Chord symbol Notes Audio

Third Fifth

Major triad major perfectC, CM, Cmaj, CΔ,Cma

C E G play (help·info)

Minor triad minor perfect Cm, Cmin, C-, Cmi C E♭ G play (help·info)

Augmentedtriad

major augmented Caug, C+, C+ C E G♯ play (help·info)

Diminishedminor diminished Cdim, Co, Cm(♭5) C E♭ G♭ play (help·info)

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Pitch constellations of seventh chords.

triadminor diminished Cdim, C , Cm(♭5) C E♭ G♭ play (help·info)

Seventh chords [edit]

Mainarticle:SeventhchordSee also:Jazz andpopnotationforseventhchords

Seventhchords aretertian chords(see above),constructedby adding afourth note toa triad, at theinterval of athird above the fifth of the chord. This creates the interval of a seventh above the root of thechord, the next natural step in composing tertian chords. The seventh chord built on the fifth step

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of the scale (the dominant seventh) is the only one available in the major scale: it contains all threenotes of the diminished triad of the seventh and is frequently used as a stronger substitute for it.

There are various types of seventh chords depending on the quality of both the chord and theseventh added. In chord notation the chord type is sometimes superscripted and sometimes not(e.g. Dm7, Dm7, and Dm7 are all identical).

Component intervalsChord symbol Notes Audio

Third Fifth Seventh

Diminishedseventh

minor diminished diminished Co7, Cdim7 C E♭G♭ B

Play (help·info)

Half-diminishedseventh

minor diminished minorCø7, Cm7♭5,C−7(♭5)

C E♭G♭

B♭ Play (help·info)

Minor seventh minor perfect minorCm7, Cmin7,C−7, C−7

C E♭G B♭

Play (help·info)

Minor majorseventh

minor perfect majorCm(M7),Cm maj7, C−(j7),C−Δ7, C−M7

C E♭G B

Play (help·info)

Dominantseventh

major perfect minor C7, C7, Cdom7C E GB♭

Play (help·info)

Major seventh major perfect majorCM7, Cmaj7,CΔ7, CΔ7, CΔ7,Cj7

C E GB

Play (help·info)

Augmented C+7, Caug7, C E G♯

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Dominant thirteenth extended chord:C E G B♭ D F A play (help·info). Theupper structure or extensions, i.e. notesbeyond the seventh, in red.

Augmentedseventh

major augmented minorC+7, Caug7,C7+, C7+5, C7♯5

C E G♯B♭

Play (help·info)

Augmentedmajor seventh

major augmented majorC+(M7), CM7+5,CM7♯5, C+j7,C+Δ7

C E G♯B

Play (help·info)

Extended chords [edit]

Main article: Extended chordSee also: Jazz and pop notation for extended chords

Extended chords are triads with further tertian notes addedbeyond the seventh; the ninth, eleventh, and thirteenthchords. After the thirteenth, any notes added in thirdsduplicate notes elsewhere in the chord. All seven notes ofthe scale are present in the chord and adding more notesdoes not add new pitch classes. Such chords may beconstructed only by using notes that lie outside thediatonic seven-note scale (See #Altered chords below).

Components Chordsymbol

Notes AudioChord Interval(s)

Dominantninth

dominantseventh

majorninth

- - C9C E GB♭ D

Play (help·info)

dominantseventh

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Altered chord on C with flat 5th, 7th,and 9th. Play (help·info)

Dominanteleventh

seventh(the third is

usually

omitted)

majorninth

eleventh - C11C E GB♭ D F

Play (help·info)

Dominantthirteenth

dominantseventh

majorninth

perfecteleventh(usually

omitted)

majorthirteenth

C13C E GB♭ D FA

Play (help·info)

Other extended chords follow similar rules, so that for example maj9, maj11, and maj13 containmajor seventh chords rather than dominant seventh chords, while min9, min11, and min13 containminor seventh chords.

Altered chords [edit]

Main article: Altered chord

Although the third and seventh of the chord are alwaysdetermined by the symbols shown above, the fifth, ninth,eleventh and thirteenth may all be chromatically altered byaccidentals (the root cannot be so altered withoutchanging the name of the chord, while the third cannot bealtered without altering the chord's quality). These arenoted alongside the altered element. Accidentals are mostoften used with dominant seventh chords. Altereddominant seventh chords (C7alt) may have a flat ninth, asharp ninth, a diminished fifth or an augmented fifth (see Levine's Jazz Theory). Some write this as

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C7+9, which assumes also the flat ninth, diminished fifth and augmented fifth (see Aebersold'sScale Syllabus). The augmented ninth is often referred to in blues and jazz as a blue note, beingenharmonically equivalent to the flat third or tenth. When superscripted numerals are used thedifferent numbers may be listed horizontally (as shown) or else vertically.

Components Chordsymbol

Notes AudioChord Interval(s)

Seventh augmentedfifth

dominantseventh

augmented fifth C7+5, C7♯5 Play (help·info)

Seventh flat ninthdominantseventh

minor ninth C7-9, C7♭9 Play (help·info)

Seventh sharp ninthdominantseventh

augmentedninth

C7+9, C7♯9 Play (help·info)

Seventh augmentedeleventh

dominantseventh

augmentedeleventh

C7+11,C7♯11 Play (help·info)

Seventh flatthirteenth

dominantseventh

minor thirteenthC7-13,C7♭13 Play (help·info)

Half-diminishedseventh

minorseventh

diminished fifth Cø, Cm7♭5 Play (help·info)

Added tone chords [edit]

Main article: Added tone chord

An added tone chord is a triad chord with an added,

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Suspended chord (sus2) and added tonechord (add9) both with D (ninth=second),distinguished by the absence or presence ofthe third (E♭).[34]

non-tertian note, such as the commonly added sixthas well as chords with an added second (ninth) orfourth (eleventh) or a combination of the three. Thesechords do not include "intervening" thirds as in anextended chord. Added chords can also havevariations. Thus madd9, m4 and m6 are minor triadswith extended notes.

Sixth chords can belong to either of two groups. Oneis first inversion chords and added sixth chords thatcontain a sixth from the root.[35] The other group is inverted chords in which the interval of a sixthappears above a bass note that is not the root.[36]

The major sixth chord (also called, sixth or added sixth with the chord notation 6, e.g., "C6") is byfar the most common type of sixth chord of the first group. It comprises a major triad with the addedmajor sixth above the root, common in popular music.[7] For example, the chord C6 contains thenotes C-E-G-A. The minor sixth chord (min6 or m6, e.g., "Cm6") is a minor triad with the sameadded note. For example, the chord Cmin6 contains the notes C-E♭-G-A. In chord notation, thesixth of either chord is always assumed a major sixth rather than a minor sixth, however a minorsixth interval may be indicated in the notation as, for example, "Cm(m6)", or Cmm6.

The augmented sixth chord usually appears in chord notation as its enharmonic equivalent, theseventh chord. This chord contains two notes separated by the interval of an augmented sixth (or,by inversion, a diminished third, though this inversion is rare). The augmented sixth is generallyused as a dissonant interval most commonly used in motion towards a dominant chord in rootposition (with the root doubled to create the octave the augmented sixth chord resolves to) or to atonic chord in second inversion (a tonic triad with the fifth doubled for the same purpose). In thiscase, the tonic note of the key is included in the chord, sometimes along with an optional fourth

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note, to create one of the following (illustrated here in the key of C major):

Italian augmented sixth: A♭, C, F♯

French augmented sixth: A♭, C, D, F♯

German augmented sixth: A♭, C, E♭, F♯

The augmented sixth family of chords exhibits certain peculiarities. Since they are not based ontriads, as are seventh chords and other sixth chords, they are not generally regarded as havingroots (nor, therefore, inversions), although one re-voicing of the notes is common (with thenamesake interval inverted to create a diminished third).[37]

The second group of sixth chords includes inverted major and minor chords, which may be calledsixth chords in that the six-three (6/3) and six-four (6/4) chords contain intervals of a sixth with thebass note, though this is not the root. Nowadays this is mostly for academic study or analysis (seefigured bass) but the neapolitan sixth chord is an important example; a major triad with a flatsupertonic scale degree as its root that is called a "sixth" because it is almost always found in firstinversion. Though a technically accurate Roman numeral analysis would be ♭II, it is generallylabelled N6. In C major, the chord is notated (from root position) D♭, F, A♭. Because it useschromatically altered tones this chord is often grouped with the borrowed chords (see below) butthe chord is not borrowed from the relative major or minor and it may appear in both major andminor keys.

Components Chordsymbol

Notes AudioChord Interval(s)

Add ninemajortriad

major ninth - C2, Cadd9 C E G D Play (help·info)

Add fourthmajor perfect

- C4, Cadd11 C E G F Play (help·info)

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Sus4 chord on C play (help·info)

Add fourthtriad fourth

- C4, C C E G F Play (help·info)

Add sixthmajortriad

major sixth - C6 C E G A Play (help·info)

Six-ninemajortriad

major sixthmajorninth

C6/9C E G AD

-

Mixed-third

majortriad

minor third - -C E♭ EG

Play (help·info)

Suspended chords [edit]

Main article: Suspended chord

A suspended chord, or "sus chord" (sometimes wronglythought to mean sustained chord), is a chord in which thethird is replaced by either the second or the fourth. Thisproduces two main chord types: the suspended second(sus2) and the suspended fourth (sus4). The chords,Csus2 and Csus4, for example, consist of the notes C D Gand C F G, respectively. There is also a third type ofsuspended chord, in which both the second and fourth arepresent, for example the chord with the notes C D F G.

The name suspended derives from an early polyphonic technique developed during the commonpractice period, in which a stepwise melodic progress to a harmonically stable note in anyparticular part was often momentarily delayed or suspended by extending the duration of theprevious note. The resulting unexpected dissonance could then be all the more satisfyinglyresolved by the eventual appearance of the displaced note. In traditional music theory the

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inclusion of the third in either chord would negate the suspension, so such chords would be calledadded ninth and added eleventh chords instead.

In modern layman usage the term is restricted to the displacement of the third only and thedissonant second or fourth no longer needs to be held over (prepared) from the previous chord.Neither is it now obligatory for the displaced note to make an appearance at all though in themajority of cases the conventional stepwise resolution to the third is still observed. In post-bop andmodal jazz compositions and improvisations suspended seventh chords are often used innontraditional ways: these often do not function as V chords, and do not resolve from the fourth tothe third. The lack of resolution gives the chord an ambiguous, static quality. Indeed, the third isoften played on top of a sus4 chord. A good example is the jazz standard, Maiden Voyage.

Extended versions are also possible, such as the seventh suspended fourth, which, with root C,contains the notes C F G B♭ and is notated as C7sus4 play (help·info). Csus4 is sometimeswritten Csus since the sus4 is more common than the sus2.

Components Chordsymbol

Notes AudioChord Interval(s)

Sus2openfifth

majorsecond

- - Csus2 C D G Play (help·info)

Sus4openfifth

perfectfourth

- - Csus4 C F G Play (help·info)

Jazzsus

openfifth

perfectfourth

minorseventh

majorninth

C9sus4C F GB♭ D

Play (help·info)

Borrowed chords [edit]

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Borrowed chords from the parallel minor key arecommonly found in the Baroque, Classical andRomantic eras.

Main article: Borrowed chord

A borrowed chord is one from a different keythan the home key, the key of the piece it isused in. The most common occurrence of thisis where a chord from the parallel major orminor key is used. Particularly good examplescan be found throughout the works ofcomposers such as Schubert.

For instance, for a composer working in the C major key, a major ♭III chord would be borrowed, asthis appears only in the C minor key. Although borrowed chords could theoretically include chordstaken from any key other than the home key, this is not how the term is used when a chord isdescribed in formal musical analysis.

When a chord is analysed as "borrowed" from another key it may be shown by the Roman numeralcorresponding with that key after a slash so, for example, V/V indicates the dominant chord of thedominant key of the present home-key. The dominant key of C major is G major so this secondarydominant is the chord of the fifth degree of the G major scale, which is D major. If used, this chordcauses a modulation.

References [edit]

1. ^ Benward & Saker (2003). Music: In Theory and Practice, Vol. I, p. 67&359. Seventh Edition. ISBN978-0-07-294262-0."A chord is a harmonic unit with at least three different tones soundingsimultaneously." "A combination of three or more pitches sounding at the same time."

2. ^ Károlyi, Otto (1965). Introducing Music. Penguin Books. p. 63. "Two or more notes soundingsimultaneously are known as a chord."

3. ^ Mitchell, Barry (January 16, 2008). "An explanation for the emergence of Jazz (1956) ", Theory of

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Music.

4. ^ Linkels, Ad, The Real Music of Paradise", In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark withMcConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 2: Latin & North America,Caribbean, India, Asia and Pacific, pp 218–229. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0

5. ̂a b Malm, William P. (1996). Music Cultures of the Pacific, the Near East, and Asia. p.15. ISBN 0-13-182387-6. Third edition: "Indeed this harmonic orientation is one of the major differences betweenWestern and much non-Western music."

6. ̂a b c Arnold Schoenberg, Structural Functions of Harmony, Faber and Faber, 1983, p.1-2.

7. ̂a b c d e f g Benward & Saker (2003), p. 77.

8. ^ Merriam-Webster, Inc. (1995). "Chord", Merriam-Webster's dictionary of English usage , p.243.ISBN 978-0-87779-132-4.

9. ^ "Chord ", Oxford Dictionaries.

10. ^ Dahlhaus, Car. "Harmony". In Macy, Laura. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. OxfordUniversity Press. (subscription required)

11. ^ Károlyi, Ottó, Introducing Music, p. 63. England: Penguin Books.

12. ^ Schellenberg, E. Glenn; Bigand, Emmanuel; Poulin-Charronnat, Benedicte; Garnier, Cecilia;Stevens, Catherine (Nov 2005). "Children's implicit knowledge of harmony in Western music".Developmental Science 8 (8): 551–566. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2005.00447.x .PMID 16246247 .

13. ^ Duarter, John (2008). Melody & Harmony for Guitarists, p.49. ISBN 978-0-7866-7688-0.

14. ̂a b Benward & Saker (2003), p.70.

15. ^ Benward & Saker (2003), p.100.

16. ̂a b Benward & Saker (2003), p.201.

17. ^ Benward & Saker (2003), p.220.

18. ^ Benward & Saker (2003), p.231.

19. ^ Benward & Saker (2003), p.274.

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20. ^ Winston Harrison, The Rockmaster System: Relating Ongoing Chords to the Keyboard – Rock,Book 1, Dellwin Publishing Co. 2005, p. 33 [1]

21. ^ Pachet, François, Surprising Harmonies, International Journal on ComputingAnticipatory Systems,1999. [2]

22. ^ Pen, Ronald (1992). Introduction to Music, p.81. McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-038068-6. "In each casethe note that forms the foundation pitch is called the root, the middle tone of the chord is designatedthe third (because it is separated by the interval of a third from the root), and the top tone is referredto as the fifth (because it is a fifth away from the root)."

23. ^ William G Andrews and Molly Sclater (2000). Materials of Western Music Part 1, p.227. ISBN 1-55122-034-2.

24. ^ The symbol Δ is ambiguous, as it is used by some as a synonym for M (e.g. CΔ=CM andCΔ7=CM7), and by others as a synonym of M7 (e.g. CΔ=CM7).

25. ^ Haerle, Dan (1982). The Jazz Language: A Theory Text for Jazz Composition and Improvisation,p.30. ISBN 978-0-7604-0014-2.

26. ^ Policastro, Michael A. (1999). Understanding How to Build Guitar Chords and Arpeggios, p.168.ISBN 978-0-7866-4443-8.

27. ^ Benward & Saker (2003), p.92.

28. ^ Bert Weedon, Play in a Day, Faber Music Ltd, ISBN 0-571-52965-8, passim - among a wide rangeof other guitar tutors

29. ^ Dufrenne, Mikel (1989). The Phenomenology of Aesthetic Experience, p.253. ISBN 0-8101-0591-8.

30. ^ Connie E. Mayfield (2012) "Theory Essentials", p.523. ISBN 1-133-30818-X.

31. ^ Hanson, Howard. (1960) Harmonic Materials of Modern Music, p.7ff. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. LOC 58-8138.

32. ^ Benjamin, Horvit, and Nelson (2008). Techniques and Materials of Music, p.46-47. ISBN 0-495-50054-2.

33. ^ Benjamin, Horvit, and Nelson (2008). Techniques and Materials of Music, p.48-49. ISBN 0-495-50054-2.

34. ^ Hawkins, Stan. "Prince- Harmonic Analysis of 'Anna Stesia'", p.329 and 334n7, Popular Music,

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Vol. 11, No. 3 (Oct., 1992), pp. 325-335.

35. ^ Miller, Michael (2005). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Music Theory, p.119. ISBN 978-1-59257-437-7.

36. ^ Piston, Walter (1987). Harmony (5th ed.), p.66. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-95480-3.

37. ^ Bartlette, Christopher, and Steven G. Laitz (2010). Graduate Review of Tonal Theory. New York:Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-537698-2

Sources [edit]

Grout, Donald Jay (1960). A History Of Western Music. Norton Publishing.

Dahlhaus, Carl. Gjerdingen, Robert O. trans. (1990). Studies in the Origin of HarmonicTonality, p. 67. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-09135-8.

Goldman (1965). Cited in Nattiez (1990).

Jones, George T. (1994). HarperCollins College Outline Music Theory. ISBN 0-06-467168-2.

Nattiez, Jean-Jacques (1990). Music and Discourse: Toward a Semiology of Music(Musicologie générale et sémiologue, 1987). Translated by Carolyn Abbate (1990). ISBN 0-691-02714-5.

Norman Monath, Norman (1984). How To Play Popular Piano In 10 Easy Lessons. FiresideBooks. ISBN 0-671-53067-4.

Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell, eds. (2001). The New Grove Dictionary of Music andMusicians. ISBN 1-56159-239-0.

Surmani, Andrew (2004). Essentials of Music Theory: A Complete Self-Study Course for AllMusicians. ISBN 0-7390-3635-1.

Further reading [edit]

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V · T · E ·

V · T · E ·

Schejtman, Rod (2008). Music Fundamentals . The Piano Encyclopedia. ISBN 978-987-25216-2-2.

Persichetti, Vincent (1961). Twentieth-century Harmony: Creative Aspects and Practice. NewYork: W. W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-09539-8. OCLC 398434 .

Benward, Bruce & Saker, Marilyn (2002). Music in Theory and Practice, Volumes I & II (7thed.). New York: McGraw Hill. ISBN 0-07-294262-2.

External links [edit]

Quotations related to Chord (music) at Wikiquote

Media related to Chords at Wikimedia Commons

• How to Interpret Chord Symbols

Consonance and dissonanceArgument · Avoid note · Beating · Cadence · Chord · Interval · Nonchord tone (Cambiata · Changing tones ·

Pedal point · Preparation · Resolution) · Musical note · Spectra ·

ConsonancesUnison · Minor third · Major third · Perfect fourth · Perfect fifth · Minor sixth · Major sixth · Octave·

Dissonances Minor second · Major second · Tritone · Minor seventh · Major seventh ·

List of musical intervals

Chords

Triad Major · Minor · Augmented · Diminished · Suspended ·

SeventhMajor · Minor · Dominant · Dominant seventh flat five · Diminished ·Half-diminished · Diminished major · Minor-major · Augmented major ·Augmented minor · Altered seventh · Nondominant · Harmonic seventh ·

Ninth · Eleventh · Thirteenth · Upper structure · Dominant 7♯9 · Polychord ·

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V · T · E ·

By formExtended

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By function

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Altered Approach · Borrowed · Chromatic mediant · Neapolitan · Passing ·

Secondary Secondary dominant · Secondary leading-tone · Secondary supertonic ·

Other Common · Contrast · Primary triad · Subsidiary ·

Techniques Block · Chordioid · Guitar · Open · Power · Slash ·

Other List of chords · Factor ·

HarmonyAccompaniment · Alberti bass · Banjo roll · Cadence · Chord · Chord progression · Four-part · Harmonic rhythm ·

Harmonization · List of chords · List of chord progressions · Note · Pitch · Sequence · Simultaneity ·Voice leading ·

Categories: Chords Harmony

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