Old message # 5944
you wrote:
"btw the site standard for chord symbols and the like would be a fine addition to the proposed beginner's info."
this is probably neither complete nor helpful, but i sure had fun putting it together:
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here's a list of the most common chords.
the symbols you'll see above each of the chord types are my adaptation of dr william fowler's "chord shorthand" system.
besides being one of my teachers at ucdc, bill fowler was also education editor and columnist for 13 years at down beat magazine, theory columnist for 6 years at keyboard magazine, and he co-invented the piezo pickup.
his bio: https://www.fowlerbrothers.com/bill/bio_bill.htm
because of dr fowler's fame and respect, we were able to attend master classes up close and personal with such greats as billy taylor and george duke.
this "chord shorthand" you see here was inspired by fowler's concept of an efficient and quick way to rapidly see exactly which tones were present in the current chord.
unfortunately his system was designed for quill and parchment, and it proves to be a royal pain to create in a computer text document.
nonetheless, i included it here for its informative and intuitive aid in defining the common chord indication beneath each "shorthand" representation.
and as a tribute to dr fowler.
the beauty of this system is that any chord can be expressed totally accurately.
another drawback is that it can't express voicings.
explanation of system:
lower chord components
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root
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3rd
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5th
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7th
7 _
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5 _|
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3 _|
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1 _|
upper extensions
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9th
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11th
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13th
master template:
7 _
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5 _|
|_ 11
3 _|
|_ 9
1 _|
1. root options:
the root may be present or not.
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rootless 4'33"
3. third options:
the third may be natural (4 half-steps above root) or lowered (3 half-steps above root).
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natural 3rd (major third)
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lowered third (minor third)
5. fifth options:
the fifth may be natural (7 half-steps above root), lowered (6 half-steps above root) or raised (8 half-steps above root).
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natural 5th (perfect fifth)
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lowered 5th (b5)
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raised 5th (#5)
7. seventh options:
the seventh may be natural (11 half-steps above root) or lowered (10 half-steps above root).
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natural 7th (major seventh)
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lowered 7th (minor seventh)
9. ninth options:
the ninth may be natural (14 or 2 half-steps above root), lowered (13 or 1 half-step above root) or raised (15 or 3 half-steps above root).
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natural 9th (major ninth)
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lowered 9th (b9)
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raised 9th (#9)
11. eleventh options:
the eleventh may be natural (17 or 5 half-steps above root) or raised (18 or 6 half-steps above root).
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natural 11th (perfect eleventh - perfect fourth)
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raised 11th (augmented eleventh - augmented 4th)
13. thirteenth options:
the thirteenth may be natural (21 or 9 half-steps above root) or lowered (20 or 8 half-steps above root).
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natural 13th (major sixth)
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lowered 13th (minor sixth)
major quality chords
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major triad
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maj6
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maj7
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maj9
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maj9#11
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maj11
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maj13
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maj13(no 11)
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maj13#11
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maj69
minor quality chords
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minor triad
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m6
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m7
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m7b5
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m9
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m9b5
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m69
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m11
dominant quality chords
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augmented triad
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7th
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7sus4 _
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7b5
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7#5
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7b9
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7#9
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9th
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9b5
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9#5
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13(no 11)
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13th
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13#11
suspended chords
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sus4
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sus2
diminished chords
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dim7
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dim9
rootless chords examples
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m9
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13th
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maj69
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7b9
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dim9
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7#9
copyright © 2004 j.brent
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