C E G A)Īdd flattened 7th (dominant 7th) to major triad (e.g. C F G)Īdd 6th of scale to major triad (e.g. Replace 3rd of triad with 4th of scale (e.g. Replace 3rd of triad with 2nd of scale (e.g. C D E G)Īdd 2nd of scale to minor triad (e.g. C Eb G)Īdd 2nd of scale to major triad (e.g.

Small ‘m’ indicates minor triad of that note (e.g. C# E# G#)Īs in sheet music, ‘b’ means flat (e.g. C E G)Īs in sheet music, ‘#’ means sharp (e.g. Single letter indicates major triad of that note (e.g. Here’s how to understand the chord symbols:

If the reason for this isn’t immediately obvious, visit part 1, 2 and 3 of Music Theory. A chord starting on D gives us a minor chord (i.e. Whether the chord is major or minor depends on the notes available in the scale.Ī chord starting on C is a major chord (i.e. I have included numbers beyond the octave because we use them on the Chord Symbols Chart (see below).Įach note of the scale correlates to a chord built on that note. To understand the chord chart, we only need to look at a simple major scale. In some parts of the world similar chord charts use solfège, where instead of letters A through G, or numbers 1 through 7, chords are indicated with Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti. Most contemporary church music is presented in this way a line of lyrics with single letters or numbers above.

In the pop music era, where folk and blues-based music has dominated, chord charts with letter and number notation have gained popularity. Most people are familiar with the look of traditional western music notation, which began in the 14th century and became established by the end of the 17th century. The earliest surviving example is a 3,400-year-old Sumerian clay tablet, while the oldest complete composition to survive is a first century A.D. By it, we can record in written form the music we play and share ideas with other musicians. Music notation has been around for thousands of years.

Nashville number system chart symbols