chords.md

Chords

Comprehensive Three-Note Chord Classification

Chord Name	Full Name	Notes as Scale Degrees	Intervals from Root	Description
C	Major	1 3 5	0 4 7	The standard major triad. Bright and stable sound.
Cm	Minor	1 ♭3 5	0 3 7	The standard minor triad. Darker, more melancholic sound.
C°	Diminished	1 ♭3 ♭5	0 3 6	Contains two minor thirds. Unstable, tense sound.
C+	Augmented	1 3 ♯5	0 4 8	Contains two major thirds. Bright but unstable sound.
Csus2	Suspended 2nd	1 2 5	0 2 7	Neither major nor minor. Open, ambiguous sound.
Csus4	Suspended 4th	1 4 5	0 5 7	Neither major nor minor. Suspenseful sound.
C5	Power Chord	1 5 8	0 7 12	Root, fifth, and octave. Open, powerful sound.
C(no5)	Major (no 5th)	1 3 8	0 4 12	Major triad without the fifth. Open sound.
Cm(no5)	Minor (no 5th)	1 ♭3 8	0 3 12	Minor triad without the fifth. Open sound.
C(♭5)	Flat Five	1 3 ♭5	0 4 6	Major third with diminished fifth. Tense sound.
Cm(♭5)	Minor Flat Five	1 ♭3 ♭5	0 3 6	Same as diminished. Listed for completeness.
Cm(♯5)	Minor Sharp Five	1 ♭3 ♯5	0 3 8	Minor third with augmented fifth. Exotic sound.
C4	Fourth	1 4 8	0 5 12	Perfect fourth and octave. Open, ambiguous sound.
C2	Second	1 2 8	0 2 12	Major second and octave. Open, ambiguous sound.
C(♭2)	Flat Second	1 ♭2 5	0 1 7	Minor second with perfect fifth. Very tense sound.
C(♯4)	Sharp Four	1 ♯4 5	0 6 7	Augmented fourth (tritone) with perfect fifth. Tense sound.
Cmaj7(no5)	Major 7th (no 5th)	1 3 7	0 4 11	Major third and major seventh. Bright, open sound.
Cm7(no5)	Minor 7th (no 5th)	1 ♭3 ♭7	0 3 10	Minor third and minor seventh. Darker, jazzy sound.
C7(no5)	Dominant 7th (no 5th)	1 3 ♭7	0 4 10	Major third and minor seventh. Blues/jazz sound.
C6(no5)	Major 6th (no 5th)	1 3 6	0 4 9	Major third and major sixth. Bright, jazzy sound.
Cm6(no5)	Minor 6th (no 5th)	1 ♭3 6	0 3 9	Minor third and major sixth. Complex, jazzy sound.
C(add4)	Add Four	1 3 4	0 4 5	Major triad with added fourth. Bright but tense.
Cm(add4)	Minor Add Four	1 ♭3 4	0 3 5	Minor triad with added fourth. Dark but tense.
C(add2)	Add Two	1 2 3	0 2 4	Major third with added second. Bright, complex sound.
Cm(add2)	Minor Add Two	1 2 ♭3	0 2 3	Minor third with added second. Dark, complex sound.
Cquartal	Quartal	1 4 ♭7	0 5 10	Built on perfect fourths. Modern, ambiguous sound.
Cquintal	Quintal	1 5 2	0 7 2	Built on perfect fifths. Open, modern sound.
Ctritone	Tritone	1 ♯4 ♭7	0 6 10	Contains a tritone and minor seventh. Highly dissonant, unstable sound.

Comprehensive Four-Note Chord Classification

Chord Name	Full Name	Notes as Scale Degrees	Intervals from Root	Description
Cmaj7	Major Seventh	1 3 5 7	0 4 7 11	Bright, stable sound. Common in jazz and pop.
C7	Dominant Seventh	1 3 5 ♭7	0 4 7 10	Tense, bluesy sound. Wants to resolve.
Cm7	Minor Seventh	1 ♭3 5 ♭7	0 3 7 10	Softer, jazzier sound than minor triad.
C°7	Fully Diminished Seventh	1 ♭3 ♭5 6	0 3 6 9	Very unstable, symmetric structure.
Cø7	Half-Diminished Seventh	1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7	0 3 6 10	Darker than minor seventh, common in jazz.
C+7	Augmented Seventh	1 3 ♯5 ♭7	0 4 8 10	Tense, exotic sound. Used in jazz and impressionist music.
Cmaj7(♯5)	Major Seventh Sharp Five	1 3 ♯5 7	0 4 8 11	Bright but tense. Used in jazz and fusion.
C6	Major Sixth	1 3 5 6	0 4 7 9	Stable, sweet sound. Common in jazz and pop.
Cm6	Minor Sixth	1 ♭3 5 6	0 3 7 9	Darker than major sixth, common in jazz.
C7sus4	Dominant Seventh Sus4	1 4 5 ♭7	0 5 7 10	Open, unresolved sound. Common in rock and pop.
C9	Dominant Ninth	1 3 5 ♭7 9	0 4 7 10 14	Colorful dominant sound, common in jazz.
Cmaj9	Major Ninth	1 3 5 7 9	0 4 7 11 14	Lush, complex sound. Popular in jazz and R&B.
Cm9	Minor Ninth	1 ♭3 5 ♭7 9	0 3 7 10 14	Rich, mellow sound. Common in jazz and soul.
C7(♭9)	Dominant Seven Flat Nine	1 3 5 ♭7 ♭9	0 4 7 10 13	Very tense sound. Used in jazz and fusion.
C7(♯9)	Dominant Seven Sharp Nine	1 3 5 ♭7 ♯9	0 4 7 10 15	Hendrix chord. Bluesy, tense sound.
C7(♯11)	Dominant Seven Sharp Eleven	1 3 5 ♭7 ♯11	0 4 7 10 18	Lydian dominant sound. Used in jazz.
Cmaj7(♯11)	Major Seven Sharp Eleven	1 3 5 7 ♯11	0 4 7 11 18	Lydian sound. Bright and modern.
C7(♭5)	Dominant Seven Flat Five	1 3 ♭5 ♭7	0 4 6 10	Very tense, common in jazz as tritone substitute.
Cmaj7(♭5)	Major Seven Flat Five	1 3 ♭5 7	0 4 6 11	Unusual, tense major seventh sound.
Cadd9	Add Nine	1 3 5 9	0 4 7 14	Brighter than major, common in pop and rock.
Cmadd9	Minor Add Nine	1 ♭3 5 9	0 3 7 14	Richer than minor, used in various genres.