Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8.

Chords 137
8.Chords
Chord,fromGreekchord(Latinchorda),originallymeantthestringofa
musicalinstrument.Eventually,chordcametodenotethesimultaneous
soundingoftwoormoredifferenttonesbyanypolyphonicinstrument
orbyanycombinationofinstrument(s)and/orvoice(s).Thesimultane
oussoundingofnotesofthesamename,i.e.unisonpitchesorpitches
separatedbyoctaveintervals,doesnotqualifyasachord.Twonote
chordsarecalleddyads,threenotechordstriads,fournotechordstet
radsandsoon.
Chordsneednotbeheardassuchbymembersofamusicaltradition
whosepolyphonyemphasisestheinterplayofindependentmelodic
lines(counterpoint)muchmorestronglythanmusicintheWestern
postRenaissancetraditionof melody andaccompaniment. Inmost
typesofpopularmusicchordsaregenerallyregardedasbelongingto
theaccompanimentpartofthatdualism.
DuetotheglobalpredominanceofWesternharmonicpractices,itis
usefultodistinguishbetweentwomaincategoriesofchord:tertialand
nontertial(seechapter6).Chordscanbeidentifiedinbothstructural
andphenomenologicalterms.Thischapterfocusesmainlyonstruc
turalaspectsofchords.
Structureandterminologyoftertialchords
Tertialtriads
Tertialchordsarebasedonthesuperimpositionofthirds.Thesechords
arethefundamentalharmonicbuildingblocksinmostformsofjazz,
popularmusicandEuropeanclassicalmusic.
Atriadisanychordcontainingthreedifferentnotes.Thecommontriadisa
particular,andparticularlycommon,typeoftriadconstructedastwo
simultaneously sounding thirds, one overlapping with and superim
posed on the other. As example 11 (p. 138) shows, c and e (a major
third) together with e and g (minor third) make the major common
triadofCmajor(c-e-g),whiledandf (minorthird)togetherwithfand
a(majorthird)makeaDminortriad(d-f-a,aminorcommontriad).
138 Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords
Table11:TertialcommontriadsoneachdegreeofCmajor/Aminorscale
Therearefourtypesoftertialtriad:major,minor,diminishedandaug
mented(Table12).Thefirstthreeofthesetriadtypescanbegenerated
fromthesevenkeyspecificnotesofanystandardmajorordescending
melodicminorscale(ionianandaeolianmodes).
1

AsshowninTable11,majortriadsoccurondegrees1,4and5ofthe
major,andondegrees3,6and7oftheminorscale(e.g.C,F,GinCma
jor/Aminor).Minortriadsarefoundatdegrees2,3and6ofthemajor
andatdegrees4,5and1oftheminorscale(Dm,Em,Am).Themajor
scalesdegree7andtheminorscalesdegree2eachproduceadimin
ishedtriad.Allfourtypesoftriadaresetout,withCastheirroot,inta
ble11 (p. 139).Majortriadsconsist of aminorthirdon top of amajor
third(e-goverc-eforC),minortriadsofamajorthirdoveraminor
third(e.g.e$-goverc-e$forCminor),whileaugmentedtriadscom
prisetwosuperimposedmajorthirds(e.g.e-g#overc-e)anddimin
ishedtriadstwominorthirds(e.g.e$g$overc-e$).Alltertialtriads
contain the root (1) and, with very few exceptions, both third (3) and
fifth(5)ofoneofthetriadtypesdefinedinTable12.
1. Theflatsign($)infrontofthemajortriadsIII,VIandVIIintheAminorline
ofexample11isintheoryonlynecessarywhendesignatingtriadsinminor
modemusicusingapermanentPicardythirdonI(seepp.118120).Forexam
ple,theGreenOnionsriffindorianE(EGA;BookerT,1962)followsaI$III IV
(one,flatthree,four)patternwhilethefirstthreechordsintheverseofGreen
backDollarinaeolianA(EmGC;KingstonTrio,1962)canbedenotedeitheras
i III VI(minorone,three,six)orasi $III $VI(minorone,flatthree,flat
six).Giventhehegemonyoftheionianmodeinconventionalharmonyteach
ing,itiswisetoputtherelevantaccidental,usually$,beforeromannumerals
denotingtriadsonscaledegreesthatdonotconformtothoseoftheionian
mode,asshowninTable32,p.277.
Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords 139
Table12Fourtypesoftertialtriads(onc)
Tertialchordsymbols
Two types of shorthand are in common use so that musicians can
quicklyidentifytertialchords:[1]romannumerals(I,vi,ii
7
,V
7
etc.)and
[2]leadsheetchordsymbols(e.g.C,Am,Dm
7
,G
7
).Leadsheetchord
shorthandisexplainedonpages145158.
Romannumerals
Romannumeralsareusedinclassicalharmonytodenotechordsand
theirrelationtothetonic(keynote)ofanykey.Thissystemofrelative
chordaldesignationcan,withminormodifications,betransferredto
thestudyofanypolyphonicmusicforwhichakeynoteortoniccanbe
established. More specifically, roman numerals denote chords
mainlytertialtriadsbuiltonthescaledegreetheydesignate.The
numeralsdenotethescaledegreeoftherootnoteofthechordinques
tion,uppercasedenotingmajorandlowercaseminorcommontriads.
Table11(p. 138),whoserootnotesarec d e f g a binthekeyofCmajor
(ionianC),showthatIdenotesamajortriadbasedonscaledegree1,
iiaminortriadwithscaledegree2(d)asitsrootandsoon.Alltriads
intheothermodescommonlyusedinWesternpopularmusicaresetoutinTa
ble32,p. 277.
Bearing in mind that pitches extraneous to the tertial common triad,
mostfrequentlytheflatseventh,areexpressedassuperscriptedarabic
numerals,itis clearthat |Iviii
7
V
7
|designates thesamechordpro
typeof
triad
typeof
third
typeoffifth
notesin
chord
leadsheet
shorthand
roman
num.
major major perfect c e g C I
minor minor perfect c e$ g Cm i
augmented major augmented c e g#/a$
C
aug
/C
+ I
+
diminished minor diminished c e$ g$/f# C
dim
/C
o
i
o
140 Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords
gressioninanymajorkey,whereas|CAmDm
7
G
7
|and|DBmEm
7
A
7
|designatethesamesequenceintwokeysonly(CandDmajorre
spectively,ex.114).Similarly,arepeated|I$VIIIV|progression(CB$
F in C) is found as D C G (in D) throughout Lynyrd Skynyrds Sweet
HomeAlabama(1974)andas|GFC|attheendoftheBeatlesHeyJude
(1968b; in G). Note that tertial triads built on pitches foreign to the
standardmajororminorkeyofthepiecemustbeprecededbythereq
uisiteaccidental,forexample$VIIforamajortriadbuiltonb$inthe
keyofCmajor.Similarly,noteswithinatertialchordthatareextrane
oustothecurrentkeyofthepiecemustalsobeprecededbytherequi
site accidental, e.g. ii
7$5
for the seconddegree seventh chord in C
majorwithdasrootandcontainingalsof, a$andc.
Ex.114. Iviii
7
V
7
sequence(vamp)inCandDmajor
Inversions
Ex.115. Cmajortriadinverted
Inmostpopularmusicthelowestnoteinachordisusuallyalsoitsroot.
However,inchoralsettingsandinmusicstronglyinfluencedbytheEu
ropean classical tradition, tertial chords are often inverted, i.e. the
chordsrootnotedoesnothavetobeitslowest.Thefirstthreechordsof
example115showaCmajorcommontriad[1]initsrootposition(with
cinthebass),[2]initsfirstinversion(withitsthird,e,inthebass)and
[3]initssecondinversion(withitsfifth,g,inthebass).Thefinalchordof
example115isatetrad(achordcontainingfourdifferentnotes):itisa
Cmajortriadwiththeflatseventh(b$)inthebass,i.e.aC
7
chordinits
thirdinversion(withitsseventh,b$,aslowestnote).
Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords 141
Europeantextbookharmonysymbols,derivedfromfiguredbasstech
niquesofthebaroqueera(bottomlineofsymbolsinex.115),arelargely
incompatible with the way in which chords are understood by musi
cians in the popular field. Therefore, when inversions need to be re
ferredtotheyaremostcommonlydenotedintheabsolutetermsoflead
sheet chord symbols (top line in ex. 115), sometimes in the relative
termsofromannumerals,asshowninthelineofsymbolsbetweenthe
twostaves,i.e.asI
/3
forthetonictriadwithitsthirdasbassnote,I
/5

forthesamechordwithitsfifthinthebass,etc.
Recognitionoftertialchords
Individualchordscanbeidentifiedandnamedaccordingtotheircon
stituent notes and harmonic functions. They can also be recognised
phenomenologically.Table13listssomeofthemostcommonchordsin
popularmusic,togetherwithreferencestooccurrencesofthosechords
inwellknownpiecesofpopularmusic.Italsoshows,whereapplica
ble, with which musical styles or with what type of mood the chords
areoftenassociated.
Table13:Familiaroccurrencesoftertialchords(3pages)
c
h
o
r
d
s
h
o
r
t

h
a
n
d
f
u
l
l

c
h
o
r
d
d
e
s
c
r
i
p

t
i
o
noccurrences
s
t
y
l
e
(common)
major
triad
Firstandfinalchordofmostnationalanthems,
WhiteChristmas(Crosby1942),theInternationale
(Degeyter1871),BlueDanubewaltz(Strauss1867).
ChordsinchorusofYellowSubmarine(Beatles1966).
HappyBirthday,lastchord.
m (common)
minortriad
1stlongchordinPinkFloydsShineOnCrazyDia
mond(1975).1stchordinItWontBeLong,SheLoves
YouandIllBeBack(Beatles1963b;1964a).1stand
lastchordinChopinsFuneralMarch(1839).
+ augmented
triad
GershwinsSwanee(1919)athowIloveyou!.Sec
ondchordinBeingForTheBenefitOfMrKiteand
FixingAHole(Beatles,1967)
6 addedsixth
chord
1stchord,atWhenwhipperwillscall,inMyBlue
Heaven(Donaldson1927).1standlastchordinMack
TheKnife(Weill,1928);inchorusofAlabamaSong,at
MoonofAlabama(Weill,1927).LastYeahinShe
LovesYou(Beatles,1963b).
j
a
z
z
1
9
2
0

4
0
s
142 Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords
m
6 minortriad
withadded
(maj.)sixth
FirstchordinverseofAlabamaSong,atShowusthe
waytothenext...(Weill,1927).Firstchordafterfan
fareintheWeddingMarch(Mendelssohn,1843).
7 (dominant)
seventh
chord
Penultimatechordinmosthymnsandnational
anthems.FirstchordinBeatlesISawHerStanding
There(1963a),IWannaBeYourMan(1963c),ShesA
Woman(1964d),Taxman(1966),GetBack(1969b).
7+ seventh
chordwith
aug
mented
fifth
ColePorter(1933):YoureBadForMe,upbeattocho
rus.MilesDavis(1961):SomeDayMyPrinceWill
Come,secondchord,atday.MaryHopkins(1968):
ThoseWereTheDays,atwerethe(upbeattocho
rus).Beatles(1969a):Oh!Darling,afterbrokedown
anddiedbeforerepriseofhook.
7$5
seventh
chordwith
diminished
fifth;seven
flatfive)
Jobim(1963):GarotadaIpanema,penultimatechord;
(1964):
Sambadaunanotaso,4thchord;(1969);
Desafinado,2ndchord.
b
o
s
s
a

n
o
v
a
,

b
e
b
o
p
,
maj
or
or
maj
7
major
seven[th]
chord
ColePorter(1932):NightAndDay,firstchordofcho
rus.ErrollGarner(1960):Misty,1stdownbeatchord
ofchorus.Beatles(1963d):ThisBoy,1stchord.Tom
Jones(1965):ItsNotUnusual,1stchord.BurtBach
arach(1968):ThisGuysInLoveWithYou,1stthree
chords.Beatles(1969a):Something,2ndchord.
j
a
z
z

s
t
a
n
d
a
r
d
s
,
p
o
p

1
9
6
0
s

7
0
s
,
m
7 minor
seven[th]
chord
Youmans(1925):TeaForTwo,firstchord(ontea).
Bacharach(1964):WalkOnBy,firstchord.Beatles
(1965b):Michelle,secondchord;(1968a):Rocky
Racoon,1stchordinhook;(1969a):YouNeverGive
MeYourMoney,firstchord.
j
a
z
z

s
t
a
n
d
a
r
d
s
,
p
o
p

1
9
6
0
s

7
0
s
m
7
m
9
minor,
major
seven[th]/
ninth
(ornine)
Hagen(1944):HarlemNocturne(theMikeHammer
theme),firstdownbeatchordoftune.Norman/
Barry(1962):JamesBondTheme,finalchord.s
d
e
t
e
c
t
i
v
e

&

s
p
i
e
s
m
7$5 minor
sevenflat
five
orhalf
diminished
Addinsell(1942):WarsawConcerto,2ndchord.Miles
Davis(1973):StellaByStarlight,1stchord.NatKing
Cole(1955):AutumnLeaves(Kosma),1stchordof
middleeight.
r
o
m
a
n
t
i
c
&

c
l
a
s
s
i
c
s
c
h
o
r
d
s
h
o
r
t

h
a
n
d
f
u
l
l

c
h
o
r
d
d
e
s
c
r
i
p

t
i
o
noccurrences
s
t
y
l
e
Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords 143
dim diminished
seventh
chord
Beatles(1963b):TillThereWasYou,
2ndchord(athill);
Beatles(1967a):StrawberryFields,
atnothingisreal.
h
o
r
r
o
r

c
h
o
r
d

s
i
l
e
n
t

m
o
v
i
e
s
.
9 (dominant)
ninthchord
Beatles(1964a):ThingsWeSaidToday,atdreaming
(somedaywhenweredreaming);(1969a):Because,
highlightedchordatround/high/blue.
s
w
i
n
g

b
e
b
o
p
,
+9 plusnine
chord
Hendrix(1967b):PurpleHaze,1stchord.
Beatles(1969a):ComeTogether,start.
BloodSweat&Tears(1969):
SpinningWheel,firstchord.
r
o
c
k

c
.

1
9
7
0
,
j
a
z
z

f
u
s
i
o
n
maj9 majornine
chord
Jobim(1963):TheGirlfromIpanema,1stchord.
m
9 minornine
chord
Warren(1938):JeepersCreepers,1stchordofchorus.
Weill(1943):SpeakLow,1stchordinchorus.Raksin
(1944)Laura,1stchordinchorus.
j
a
z
z
s
t
a
n
d
s
.
11 chordofthe
eleventh;
eleven
chord
RighteousBrothers(1965):YouveLostThatLovin
Feeling,1stchord.Beatles(1967b):ShesLeaving
Home,atleavingthenote,standingalone,quietly
turning,steppingoutside,meetingaman;(1970):
LongAndWindingRoad,atfirstoccurrenceofroad.
Abba(1977):NameoftheGame,atrepeatedIwantto
know.
g
o
s
p
e
l
,

s
o
u
l
,

f
u
s
i
o
n
,

m
o
d
a
l

j
a
z
z
m
11 minor
eleven
chord
MilesDavis(1959):SoWhat,allchords.Goldenberg
(1973):KojakTheme,firsttwochordsundermelody.
m
o
d
a
l
j
a
z
z
13 chordofthe
thirteenth;
orthirteen
chord
Degeyter(1871):Internationale,upbeattochorus.Big
BenBanjoBand(1958):LuxembourgWaltz,1stchord
(upbeat).
Beatles(1969a):Because,justbeforeecstaticAh!on
Dchord.
p
r
e

j
a
z
z
,
s
w
i
n
g
,
add9 majortriad
withadded
ninth
Bacharach(1970b):CloseToYou,
1stchord(atwhydobirdssuddenlyappear?);
Nilsson(1974):WithoutYou,1stchord.
p
o
p
b
a
l
l
a
d
s
c
h
o
r
d
s
h
o
r
t

h
a
n
d
f
u
l
l

c
h
o
r
d
d
e
s
c
r
i
p

t
i
o
noccurrences
s
t
y
l
e
144 Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords

m
add9
minortriad
withadded
ninth;
minoradd
nine
AlHirt(1966):MusicToWatchGirlsBy,1stchord.
LionelRichie(1983):Hello,1stchord.
Rota(1966):RomeoandJuliet,
maintheme,1stchord.

s
a
d
,

b
i
t
t
e
r

s
w
e
e
t

/3 majortriad
infirst
inversion
BeachBoys(1966):GodOnlyKnows,hooklineat
knowswhatIdbe.Foundations(1967):Baby,Now
ThatIveFoundYou,atletyougoandevenso.Pro
colHarum(1967b):Homburg,3rdand4thchordsin
introduction.

c
l
a
s
s
i
c
a
l

/5 majortriad
insecond
inversion
BeachBoys(1966):GodOnlyKnows,1stchord.Foun
dations(1967):Baby,NowThatIveFoundYou,at
loveyouso.ProcolHarum(1970):WreckoftheHes
perus,startofmajorkeysection.

c
l
a
s
s
i
c
a
l

m
/5
minortriad
insecond
inversion
Simon&Garfunkel(1966):HomewardBound,2nd
chord;Sinatra(1969):MyWay,2ndchord.
r
e
f
l
e
c
t
i
v
e
b
a
l
l
a
d
s
,

c
l
a
s
s
i
c
a
l

7
/7
seventh
chordin
thirdinver
sion
BeachBoys(1966):GodOnlyKnows,atarestars
aboveyou.Foundations(1967):Baby,NowThatIve
FoundYou.ProcolHarum(1967):Homburg,2nd
chord.Abba(1974a):Waterloo,2ndchord,ontheof
ooofAtWaterlooinverse1.

c
l
a
s
s
i
c
a
l

7
/7
majortriad
withmajor
seventhin
bass
ProcolHarum(1967):WhiterShadeOfPale,chord2.
EricClapton(1974):LetItGrow,2ndchord.

c
l
a
s
s
i
c
a
l

,
r
e
f
l
e
c
t
i
v
e
sus
4
suspended
fourth
chord;
quartal
chord
Beatles(1965a):YouveGotToHideYourLoveAway.
RollingStones(1965):Satisfaction,2ndoftwochords
inmainriff
MarvinGaye(1966):AintNoMountain,1stchordin
introduction.
p
o
p

1
9
6
0
s

7
0
s
c
h
o
r
d
s
h
o
r
t

h
a
n
d
f
u
l
l

c
h
o
r
d
d
e
s
c
r
i
p

t
i
o
noccurrences
s
t
y
l
e
Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords 145
Leadsheetchordshorthand
G,D
7
,Em
7
,C#m
7$5
,B$
sus4
,Am
add9
andsoon:thesearejustafewex
amplesoftheshorthandusedtodesignateindividualchordsinmany
formsofpopularmusic.Theobjectofthissectionistoexplainhowthat
systemofchordlabellingworks.
Leadsheetsaresheetsofpaperdisplayingthebasicinformationneces
saryforperformanceandinterpretationofapieceofpopularmusic.El
ementsusuallyfeaturedonaleadsheetare:[1]melody,includingits
mensuration,instaffnotation;[2]leadsheetchordshorthand,usually
placedabovethemelody;[3]lyrics,ifany.Suchtypesofwrittenmusic
areusedextensivelybymusiciansinthefieldsofjazz,cabaret,chanson
andmanytypesofdancemusic,etc.Leadsheetsconsistingoflyrics
andchordshorthandonlyarecommonamongmusiciansintherock,
popandcountrymusicsphere.
Leadsheetsoriginatedforreasonsofcopyright.Inthe1920s,theonly
waytoprotectauthorshipofanunpublishedsongintheUSAwasto
depositawrittencopywiththeCopyrightDivisionoftheLibraryof
CongressinWashington.Toprotecttherightsofsongsrecordedby
earlybluesartists,musicianshadtoprovidetheLibraryofCongress
withatranscriptionofthemelodysmostsalientfeaturesalongwith
typewrittenlyricsandbasicelementsof the songs accompaniment
(Leib,1981:56).
2
Suchadocumentwascalledaleadsheet,itsfunction
descriptiverather thanprescriptive,not leastbecause:[1]the most
profitablepopularmusicdistributioncommodityofthetimewasnot
therecordingbutthreestavesheetmusicinarrangementforvoiceand
piano;[2]mostbigbandmusiciansreadtheirpartsfromstaffnotation
providedbythearranger.However,guitaristsandbassplayersofthe
thirtiesusuallyplayedfromamensuratedsequenceofchordnames,
i.e.frombasicelementsofthesongsaccompanimentaswrittenona
leadsheet.Withthedeclineofbigbandsandtheriseofsmallercombos
inpostwaryears,withtheincreasingpopularityoftheelectricguitaras
2. AmongthoseartistswereSippieWallace,BerthaChippieHillandEvaTaylor.
AmongmusiciansprovidingthoseleadsheetswereGeorgeThomas,RichardM
JonesandClarenceWilliams.ThankstoPaulOliverforthisinformation.
146 Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords
mainchordalinstrumentinsuchcombos,andwiththeshiftfromsheet
musictorecordsasprimarymusiccommodity,leadsheetsoustedstaff
notationasthemostimportantscribalaidememoireformusiciansin
thepopularsphere.Otherreasonsforthesubsequentubiquityoflead
sheetsarethat:[1]theirinterpretationdemandsnomorethanrudimen
tarynotationalskills;[2]sincetheycontainnomorethanthebarees
sentialsofasong,anextensiverepertoirecanbeeasilymaintainedand
transportedtoperformancevenues.
Byleadsheetchordshorthandismeant:[1]symbolsusedonaleadsheetto
represent,descriptivelyorprescriptively,thechordsofasongorpiece
ofmusic;[2]thewidespreadsystemaccordingtowhichmusicpracti
tionersmostfrequentlydenotechords.
Sincethereareprobablyasmanyvariantsofleadsheetchordshort
handincurrentcirculationastherearemusicalsubcultures,itisimpos
sibletoprovideadefinitiveoverviewofthesystem.Still,eventhough
afewofthesevariantsdivergefromthecodificationpracticesdescribed
below,mostvariantsfollowbyandlargetheprinciplesexpoundedin
thischapter.Table14(pp. 148149)providesaselectionoffiftytertial
chordsandtheirleadsheetsymbols,allwiththenotecasroot.Table15
(p. 149)showshowtheshorthandtranslatesintospokenEnglishused
bymusicians.
3
Thebasicrationaleoftheshorthandwillbeexplainedin
detailafterthepresentationofthetwotables.
Leadsheetchordshorthandtable:explanations
Table14(pp. 148149)chartsfiftydifferentchordsbasedonthenotec.
Eachchordisidentifiedwith:[1]itsnumberinthechartsothatitcan
bereferredtoconciselyfromthecommentaryfollowingthetables;[2]
thestackofthirdsfromwhicheachchordderivesitsleadsheetshort
hand;[3]avalidwayofspacingeachchordonthepiano.Thefirstsec
tionofthechart(p. 148)ispresentedinascendingorderofthenumber
ofthirdssupposedlycontainedinthechords:firstsimpletriads,then
seventhchords,ninths,eleventhsandthirteenths.Thatpartofthetable
3. Forashortguidetothephenomenological(aesthesic)ratherthanconstructional
(poetic)identificationofchordsandforfullerstructuraldescriptionofcommon
chords,seeTable13,(p. 141, ff.).
Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords 147
isfollowedbyaselectionofadded,suspendedandinvertedchords,as
wellbyacoupleofexamplesofnoteomission,andendswithafew
samplesofquartalchords(p. 149).
ThetopstafflineinTable14isnotforplaying:itsimplyshowsthe
stackingofthirdsattheconceptualtheoreticalbasisofeachchord.The
lowertwostaves,however,presentaviablewayofspacingeachchord
onapianokeyboard.Pleasenotethatthelittle8underthetrebleclefof
thepianopartfollowsthepracticeofnotationfortenorvocalists.That
meansyourrighthandhastoplayeverythingoneoctavelowerthan
written.Thelefthandpartshouldbeplayedasnotated(ex. 116).
Ex.116. Symbolsand
signsusedin
Table14
(pp. 148149)
Table 14 contains a few symbolic conventions in need of explanation.
[1]Thereisingeneralonebarperchord.Iftwochordsappearinthe
same bar it is because one and the same chord, for example C
+11+9
(#100inex.116;orchordnumbers12and18onpage148),canbewrit
teninradicallydifferentwaysdependingontonalcontext.[2]Certain
notesmust,forreasonsexplainedlater,beomittedfromcertainchords,
forexamplethemajorthird(e)intheC
11
chordshownasnumber98in
example116.Suchobligatoryomissionsareindicatedbyalinedrawn
diagonallythroughthenoteinquestion.[3]Sometimesthepianopart
inTable14missesoutnotesthatappearinthestackofthirdsrowwith
noobligatoryomissionlinethroughthem.Theseoptionalomissions
are delimited by brackets round the relevant note in the tertial stack
lineofTable14(seechords99and100inex.116).
148 Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords
Table14:LeadsheetchordshorthandchartforC(1)
Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords 149
Table14(contd):LeadsheetchordshorthandchartforC(2)
Table15:FullnamesofleadsheetchordsinC(Table14)
chord
shorthand
numberin
table14
asspokeninEnglish
C
+or
C
aug
3 Cplus,Caugmented,Caug[o:g]
C
7
C
9
C
11
C
13
5, 13, 22, 26 Cseven,Cnine,Celeven,Cthirteen
C
maj7,
C
maj9
7, 15 Cmajorseven,Cmajornine
C
75or
C
7$5 10 Csevenminusfive,Csevenflatfive
C
7aug
,C
7+
9 Csevenaugmented,Csevenplus
C
9+
(C
9aug
)C
+9
19 18 Cnineplus(Cnineaugmented),Cplus9
C
13+11
(C
11+13
) 31 Cthirteenpluseleven(Celevenplusthirteen)
Cm
7
,Cm
9
,Cm
11
6, 14, 23 Cminorseven,Cminornine,Cminoreleven
Cm

,Cm
9
8, 16 Cminormajorseven,Cminormajornine
Cm
75
orCm
7$5

orC

11 Cminorsevenminusfive,
Cminorsevenflatfive,Chalfdiminished
C
dim
orC
dim7
12 Cdiminished,Cdim,Cdiminishedseventh
C
6
,Cm
6
33, 34 Csix(Cadd[ed]sixth),Cminorsix
(Cminoradd[ed]sixth)
C
sus(4)
,C
sus9
37, 39 Csus(four),Cfoursuspension,Csuspended
fourth,Csusnine
C
add9
,Cm
add9
35, 36 Caddnine,Cminoraddnine
C
7
/3
,C
7
/e
41 C(with)thirdinbass,C(with)ebass,Cfirst
inversion
150 Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords
Basicrationaleofleadsheetchordshorthand
Afterseeingsomanystackedthirds,itseemssuperfluoustostatethat
leadsheetchordshorthandhasatertialbasis.Sincethissystemofabbrevia
tionevolvedduringtheheydayoftertialharmonyinpopularmusic,its
simplest symbols denote common triads built on the designated note
(e.g.CforacommonCmajortriad).Moreover,charactersplacedafter
thetriadnametendmerelytoqualifythattertialtriad,eitherinterms
ofnotesaddedtoitorbydenotingchromaticalterationofanydegree
withinthechordexceptfortherootanditsthird.Similarly,thenumer
alsseenmost frequentlyafter thetriad symbol(7,9, 11, 13) represent
pitchesstackedinthirdsabovethetwothirdsalreadycontainedwithin
thetriad(13,35)onwhichamorecomplexchordisbased(e.g.C
9
con
taining b$ and d flat seventh and major ninth in addition to
c-e-g).Theshorthandsystemalsoassumesthatrootandbassnoteare
thesame.Developedinstylespecificcontexts,leadsheetchordshort
hand allows for the concise and efficient representation of chords in
many types of popular music, for example jazz standards, chanson,
Schlagerandmanytypesofpop,rockandcountrymusic.Thesystemis,
however,cumbersomeandinneedofreformwhenitcomestocodify
inginversionsandtonontertialharmony.
Symbolcomponents
Leadsheetchordsymbolsarebuiltfromthefollowingcomponents
placedinthefollowingorder:[1]notenameofthechordsroot,present
ineverysymbol;[2]triadtype,ifnotmajor;[3]typeofseventh,ifany;
[4]ninths,eleventhsandthirteenths,ifany,withorwithoutalteration;
[5]alteredfifth,ifany;[6]addednotesoutsidethetertialstack,oromit
tednotesandsuspensions,ifany;[7]inversions,ifany.Sincecompo
nents[2]through[7]areonlyincludedwhennecessary,chordsymbols
rangefromverysimple(e.g.C,Cm,C
7
)toquitecomplex(e.g.F#m
6add9
,
B$
13+9
,EomitG#).Table16summarisestheorderofpresentationfor
symbolsmostcommonlyusedinconnectionwithtertialchordscon
tainingneitheraddednotes,norsuspensionsnorinversions.
Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords 151
Table16:Normalorderofcomponentsinleadsheetchordshorthand
Notenameofthechordsroot
NotenamesmaybeinEnglish,asinthetoprowofTable16,orarewrit
ten according to Germanic or Latin language nomenclature.
4
English
rootnotenamesarealwaysinuppercase.
Tertialtriadtype
Noextrasymbolisnecessaryforstandardmajortriads:justConits
ownisalwaysaCmajorcommontriad,i.e.c-e-g.Thequalifiermajor
applies exclusively to sevenths, never to thirds (see p. 152). On the other
hand,minorappliestothethirdandtonoothernoteinthechord.Chords
built as oron a common minor triad must therefore include the triad
type qualifier m, mi or min, always lowercase, immediately after
thechordrootsnotename.Forexample,CmmeansaCminorcom
montriad,i.e.c-e$-g.
5

Augmented triads consist of two superimposed major thirds (e.g. c-e-

g#),diminishedtriadsoftwosuperimposedminorthirds(e.g.c-e$-g$).
1:root
note
name
A,B$,B,C,C#/D$,D,D#/E$,
E,F,F#/G$,G,G#/A$
chord/interval
type per
fect
major minor aug
mented
diminished
2:triadtype
[omit]
m
(=min/mi)
augor
+(5)
[v.unusual]
3:typeof
seventh
maj(7)
or
7
dim(7)
or
o
(7)
4a:thirteenth 13 13
b:eleventh 11 +11
c:ninth 9 9 +9
5:fifth
+oraug 5or$5
4. GermannotenamesarethesameasinEnglishexcept:[1]B8iscalledH,[2]B$is
calledB,[3]F#,C#etc.arecalledFis,Cis,etc.,and[4]E$,A$,D$arecalledEss,Ass
andDess.CDEFGAandBarecalleddormifasollasiinFrench(aLatinlan
guage),F#isfa#(fadise)andB$issi$(sibmol),etc.
5. Forotherminortriadsymbols,see Flat,sharp,plusandminusonpage 156.
152 Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords
Theadjectivesaugmentedanddiminishedqualifyinthiscasethealtera
tionofscaledegree5.Augmentedfifthsareusuallyindicatedbya+,
orbyaug(e.g.C+,orC
aug
).Whilethediminishedtriadisuncom
mon on its own, the augmented triad (C+, B$+, etc.) occurs quite fre
quentlyinpopularmusic.
To avoid linguistic incongruities like Amadd9 in chord shorthand
theresnothingmadaboutit!itispreferabletowriterootnameand
triadtypeinnormaltypeface,subsequentsymbolsinasmallertypeface
and/orassuperscript,forexampleAm
maj7
orAm
add9
.
Typeofseventh
Since,intheoftenjazzrelatedstylesforwhichleadsheetsymbolswere
originallydeveloped,theminor(flat)seventh(e.g.b$inrelationtoc)is
morecommonthanthekeyspecificmajorseventh(e.g.b8inrelation
toc),andsincethequalifierminorisappliedexclusivelytothethirdin
tertialtriads,acommonmajortriadwithanaddedminorseventhre
quiresnootherqualificationthanthenumeral7(Table14:5):flatseven
isdefaultseventhinthesamewayasdefaulttriadsfeaturemajorthirds.
Ontheotherhand,tertialchordscontainingakeyspecificmajorsev
enthneedtobeflaggedbymeansofmajor(table14:7).Sincemaj
andarereservedasqualifiersoftheseventhandofnootherscalede
gree,the7maybeomittedinconjunctionwiththesesymbols(e.g.
C
maj
orC

=C
maj7
).However,thesimple7isalwayspresenttodenote
thedefaulttetradoftheseventhwhoseseventhdegreeisalwaysflator
minor,seeTable14:512).
Seventhchordscontaininganaugmentedfifthindicatesuchalteration
by7+or7
aug
(Table14:9).Diminishedfifthsinseventhchordscontain
ingamajorthirdappearas7-5(sevenminusfive)or7$5(sevenflat
five,seeTable14:10).Seventhchordscontainingminorthird,dimin
ishedfifthandflatseventharewrittenasm
7-5
orm
7$5
,sometimesas

(minor seven flat five or half diminished, Table 14: 11). The dim
chord constitutes a special case, containing both diminished seventh
andfifth,andismostfrequentlyindicatedbydimplacedstraightafter
therootnotename,sometimesbydim
7
,occasionallyby
o
or
o7
(dimin
ishedseventhorjustdim;Table14,chordno.12).
Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords 153
Ninths,elevenths,thirteenths
Chordsinvolvingninths,eleventhsandthirteenthsareassumedtoin
clude,atleasttheoretically,somekindoftertialtriadandsomekindof
seventh (p. 148: 1332). Chords containing elevenths presuppose the
presenceofaninth,andthirteenthchordsthepresenceofaneleventh
aswellasaninth,allinadditiontoaseventhandthemajororminor
triadoftherootnote.Tosavespace,shorthanddenotingallsuchchords
isusuallypresentedindescendingorderofintervalsrequiringqualifi
cation thirteenths, elevenths, ninths, fifths once the root note
name,theminortriadmarker(ifnecessary)andthemajorseventhsym
bol(ifnecessary)havebeenincluded(Table14:1732).Theonlyexcep
tion to this practice is the chord containing major thirteenth and
augmentedeleventh(13+11)whichissometimesreferredtoinreverse
order as 11+13 (p. 148: 3132). Shorthand for chords of the thirteenth,
eleventhandninthincludenomentionoftheeleventh,ninthorseventh
belowthem,unlessanyofthosedegreesdeviatefromtheirdefaultval
ues (perfect eleventh, major ninth, minor seventh). For example, the
11inC
11
assumesthepresenceofthedefaultninthandflatseventh(d
andb$),whereasthe9inC
+11+9
isincludedonaccountofitsaltera
tionfromdtod#/e$(ex. 116,p.147:chord100).
Certain notes are often omitted from ninth, eleventh and thirteenth
chords.Whilemostoftheomissionsarepreferential,oneismandatory:
removingthemajorthirdfromanelevenchordbecauseofaninternal
minorninth dissonance created between the major third lower in the
chordandtheeleventhusuallyatthetop,forexamplethee8
3
against
the f
4
in C
11
(see chord 98 in ex. 116, p. 147).
6
Other omissions relate
largely to register. For example, with an accompanimental register in
themiddleofthepianokeyboardandwithbassnotesusuallybetween
one and two octaves lower, sounding the fifth in chords of the ninth
andthirteenthcanoftencauseamuddy,clutteredeffect.Itisforthis
reasonthatfifthsareomittedinchords17,18and2631onpage148.
6. Theissueisnotinfacttheminorninthassuch(oneoctaveplusasemitone)because
theminorninechord(C
9
,no.17onp. 148)isitselfdefinedbythesameinterval.Itis
ratheraquestionofhowthedissonanceisspacedandwhetheritisproducedin
relationtotherootortoanothernoteinthechord.IntheC
9
onpage148thereare
twooctavesandasemitonebetweentherootnotec
2
anditsminorninthd$
4
.
154 Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords
Alteredfifths
Althoughsimpleaugmentedanddiminishedtriadsareencoded+or
auganddimorrespectively,thesymbolforalteredfifths(+and5or
$5)inchordsoftheseventh,ninth,eleventhandthirteenthisalways
placedlastafterallotherrelevantinformation(e.g.C
7$5
,Cm
7$5
,C
7+
,etc;
seetable14,chords912,1921,page148).
Additionalsymbols
Omittednotes
Themorenotesachordtheoreticallycontains,themoredifficultitbe
comestospacethosenotessatisfactorilyonthekeyboardorguitar.As
wejustsawwiththeelevenchord,theprincipleoftertialstacking
evenleadstounacceptabledissonancethatcanproveimpossibletore
solvewithoutremovinganotefromthestack.Suchremovalalsoap
pliestoanythirteenthchordwhosetheoreticaltertialstackcontainsan
unalteredeleventh:that note isalwaysleftoutofthirteenthchords
basedonthemajortriad(p. 148,chords2630).Similarly,theperfect
fifthisoftenomittedfromthirteenthchordsaswellasfromcertain
ninthchords.
7
Alltheseomissionsconstitutestandardpracticeand
neednotbeindicatedinleadsheetchords.
Onechordwhichdoesrequireindicationofnoteomissionisthebare
fifth,oftenusedasrockpowerchordandusuallynoted(inE)asEno
3orEomitG#.Alessclumsywayofindicatingopenfifthsiswitha
simple5,forexampleE
5
foradyadofeandb,B$
5
forb$andf,C
5
forcandg,etc.(seeTable14,p.149,chord45).
7. Infact,themorenotesachordhastoinclude,themoredifficultitbecomestospace
itsconstituentnotesinaconvincingwayandthemorelikelyitisthatpianistswill
skipanotewhosepresenceisnotessentialtothesonicidentityofthechord.Guitar
istsareprobablylessaffectedbytheproblem:notonlyisitimpossibletoplayall
sevennotesofathirteenthchordusingasixstringedinstrument;itcanalsobehard
toconvincinglyaccommodateallfiveorsixnotesinsomeninthandeleventh
chords.Besides,sincebothguitaristsandpianistsplayinginthestylesinwhich
thesesortsofchordoccurbebopjazz,forexamplerelyonthebassplayerfor
mostrootnotesandfifths,problemsofspacingandinternaldissonancedecrease.
Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords 155
Addedninthsandsixths
Addedchordsarethoseconsistingofasimpletriadtowhichanother
single note has been added without inclusion of intervening odd
numberdegreesthatresultfromtertialstacking.Forexample,add9
andm
add9
chordsaretriadstowhichtheninthhasbeenaddedwithout
includinganintermediateseventh(p. 149, chords3536).Similarly,the
twosixthchords(p. 149:3334)arequalifiableasaddedbecausethey
bothconsistofatriadtowhichamajorsixthhasbeenaddedwithout
anyinterveningsevenths,ninthsoreleventhsmakingthemintochords
ofthethirteenth.Itshouldberememberedthattheminm6refersto
theminorthird,nottothesixthwhichisalwaysmajor(e.g.Cm
6
asc e$
g a8;p. 149: 34).Unlikeaddedninths,addedsixthchordsarenotindi
catedwiththeprefixaddbeforethe6.
Suspendedfourthsandninths
Suspensions are chords that can be resolved into a subsequent tertial
consonance. The most common suspensions in popular music, sus4
andsus9,bothresolvetocommonmajororminortriads,thefourthof
sus4toathird,theninthofsus9totheoctave(e.g.thefinC
sus4
tothe
eofCorthee$ofCm,thedinC
sus9
tothecofCorCm(p. 149:3740).
The absence of any numeral after sus assumes that the suspension is
held onafourth.Althoughadd9chords (p. 149:3536)andsus9s(39
40)maybeidenticalasindividualchords,sus9shouldtypicallyresolve
in themanner just described, while add9 need not. (Foruse of sus in
quartalharmony,seeNontertialchords,p. 157, ff.).
Inversions
Sinceinversionsmainlytooccurinpopularmusicinpassingnotepat
ternsoranacrusescreatedbythebassplayerwithoutreferencetonota
tion,nostandardleadsheetcodificationexistsforsuchpractices.This
lacuna in the system makes chord labelling difficult in classical har
monycontexts.Onewayofindicatinginversionsis,however,towrite
therelevantbassnotebyintervalnumberornotenamefollowingthe
restofthechordssymbolsandaforwardslash,forexampleC
7
/3
orC
7
/
e
foraCsevenchordwithitsthird,e,inthebass(p. 149:4143).Inver
sions audible in pop recordings are often absent from published lead
156 Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords
sheetsandtendonlybeindicatediftheyoccuronanimportantdown
beatoritssyncopatedanticipation.Thesamegoesforchordsthatare
heldorrepeatedwhilebassnoteschangeinconjunctmotion.Forexam
ple, a bass line descending chromatically from Cm to A$ would first
passthroughthechordshownasnumber44onpage149:Cm/
b8
.That
indicationmaybeaccuratebutthechordisunlikelytobecalledCmi
norwithamajorseventhinthebassorCminoroverb naturalinthe
bass, much more likely to be thought of as a another C minor, be
causeitssimplypartofthebassplayersjobtotakethemusicfromCm
toA$inanappropriatemanner.Inanycase,youareunlikelytosee|D
D
/c#
|Bm D
/a
|G

| as leadsheet shorthand for the first five chords in

BachsAir(1731),howeveraccuratethatmaybe.
8

Anomalies
Flat,sharp,plusandminus
Sharpandflatsigns(#,$)aremainly
reservedasaccidentalsqualifyingthe
root note name. Example 117 shows
the$inE$
9
indicatingthattheroot
noteeitselfisflat(E$)andnotitsninth(f#becomingf8).Itisinthis
waypossibletodistinguishbetweenanEflatninechord,(E$
9
:e$-g-
b$-d$-f),andanEminusninechord(E
9
,i.e.E
7
withaflatninth,i.e.e-
g#-[b]-d-f8).Otherwisetheruleisthatinanychord,allaltereddegrees
apartfrom3and7(pp. 151152)areindicatedby+foranoteraisedbya
semitoneandbyor$foranoteloweredbyonesemitone.C
7$5
and
C
75
areinotherwordsthesamechord.Itshouldbenotedthatconflict
ingconventionsconcerningtheuseofthesesymbolsareinoperation.
Forexample,someversionsoftheRealBookuseminussignsinstead
ofmormin todenoteminortriads,flatandsharpsignsinsteadof+and
tosignalchromaticalteration.
8. Infact,legalorillegal,onpaperortheinternet,publicationsofsheetmusicandof
lyricswithguitarchordsarenotoriousforomittingchordaldetailintrinsictothe
soundofthesonginquestion.Forexample,inthe(legal)Warnersheetmusicver
sionofLionelRichiesHello(1985)notasingleAm
add9
appearsaseithernotesor
amongtheguitarchords,eventhoughthatchorddominatesthesongsverses.
Ex. 117 E$
9
and E
9
Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords 157
Enharmonicspelling
Leadsheetchordshorthandtendstodisregardtherulesofenharmonic
orthography.
9
Forexample,althoughthe$IIIcadenceattheendof
theGirlfromIpanema(Jobim,1963)mightappearasA$
9$5
G
maj7
ona
leadsheetinG,thesame$IIIcadencewouldinE$almostcertainly
bespeltE
9$5
E$
maj7
ratherthantheenharmonicallycorrectF$
9$5

E$
maj7
.Similarly,distinctionisrarelymadebetweenchordscontaining
afallingminortenthandthosewitharisingaugmentedninth:theas
sumption is that since both +9 and -10 refer to the same equaltone
pitch,thedifferencebetweenthemisimmaterial.+9ismuchmorecom
monly used than -10, even if the latter is more often enharmonically
correct.
Nontertialchords
Sincenontertialchordsdonotderivefromstackedthirds,theyarenot
reallytranslatableintoleadsheetshorthand.Apartfromopenfifths,al
readymentioned,thereareproblemsinencodingharmoniesusedin
modal andbitonal jazz,aswellas insome typesoffolkmusic and
avantgarderock.Forexample,standardconsonancesinquartalhar
mony,likechords48and50onpage149(C
4
andC
4$7
),areoftenla
belled sus or sus4, which is in one sense not surprising because
chords48and50(C
4
andC
4$7
)containexactlythesamenotesaschords
37and38(C
sus
,C
7sus
).ThepointisthatneitherC
2,4
,norC
5
andC
4$7
needanyresolutionandthatharmonicsuspensionisneitherintended
norperceived.Thatsuchsuspensionisintendedinchords3740isindi
catedinthetable(p. 149)byarrowsleadingfromeachsuspendednote
toitsresolutiononthesmall,stemlessblacknotefollowingit.
Another anomaly is that musicians often conceptualise chords of the
eleventhandthirteenthbitonallyratherthanintermsofstackedthirds,
forexampleC
13+11
asaDmajortriadontopofC
7
;orC
11
asGm
7
orB$
6
with c in the bass. No satisfactory consensus exists as to how such
chords might be more adequately encoded. One possible solution to
9. Formoreaboutenharmonicsseeaddendum,pp.270272.
158 Tagg: Everyday Tonality 8. Chords
partoftheproblemmaybetorefertosomeofthesechordsintheway
suggestedintable14,examples4750(p. 149),inlinewithourdiscus
sionofquartalharmonyinChapter6(pp. 125136).