Skip to main content

Notation & Symbols

Chord Symbol

Definition

A chord symbol is a short label, such as C, Am7 or G/B, written above the staff to name a chord. The letter gives the root; what follows gives the chord's quality, any added notes and, after a slash, the bass note.

A chord symbol names a chord in a few characters, so a player can build it on the spot. Read it from left to right:

  1. The root: a capital letter, with a sharp or flat if needed (C, F♯, B♭). This is the note the chord is built on (see root).
  2. The quality: nothing for major; m (or min, or −) for minor; dim or ° for diminished; aug or + for augmented; sus2 or sus4 for a suspended chord.
  3. Added notes: numbers such as 6, 7, maj7 or 9, sometimes with a sharp or flat (C7♭9).
  4. A bass note, after a slash: C/E is a C major chord with E in the bass, a slash chord.
Two treble-clef examples in 4/4, each with four half-note chords and a chord symbol above each. The first: C major, C minor, C diminished and C augmented triads, labeled C, Cm, Cdim and C+. The second: four-note chords labeled C7, Cmaj7 and Cm7, then a C major chord with E at the bottom, labeled C/E.
Left: four triads on C with their symbols: C (major), Cm (minor), Cdim (diminished) and C+ (augmented). Right: C7 (dominant seventh), Cmaj7 (major seventh), Cm7 (minor seventh) and C/E, a C major chord with E as its lowest note.

Common chord symbols on C

  • C: major triad (C, E, G)
  • Cm: minor triad (C, E♭, G)
  • Cdim or C°: diminished triad (C, E♭, G♭)
  • C+ or Caug: augmented triad (C, E, G♯)
  • Csus4: suspended fourth (C, F, G)
  • C7: dominant seventh (C, E, G, B♭)
  • Cmaj7 (also CΔ7): major seventh (C, E, G, B)
  • Cm7: minor seventh (C, E♭, G, B♭)
  • Cm7♭5 (also Cø7): half-diminished seventh (C, E♭, G♭, B♭)

Watch the most common trap: a plain 7 means the seventh a whole step below the octave (B♭ over C), as in a dominant seventh chord. For the seventh a half step below the octave you need maj7.

What a chord symbol does not tell you

A chord symbol names the notes, not how to arrange them. It leaves open the voicing (which octave each note goes in, which notes to double or leave out), the rhythm and the style. Unless there is a slash, the bass usually plays the root, but the upper notes can come in any order. That freedom is the point: the same symbol can become a strummed guitar chord, a jazz piano voicing or a walking bass line.

Chord symbols and Roman numerals

Chord symbols name chords by their letters (G7), so they change when a song changes key. Roman numerals name chords by their place in the key (V7), so they describe the same progression in any key. Lead sheets use chord symbols; harmony and analysis often use Roman numerals.

See every symbol built on C in Chord symbols, then use them in Reading a lead sheet.

Common questions

What does the m mean in a chord symbol?

Minor: Am is an A minor chord. Major is shown by the letter alone (A), or by maj when a seventh is added (Amaj7).

What is the difference between C7 and Cmaj7?

C7 is a dominant seventh chord: C, E, G, B♭. Cmaj7 is a major seventh chord: C, E, G, B. A plain 7 means the lower of the two sevenths.

Practice it: free worksheets