The name of a chord is determined by the relationship to the tonic of every note in the chord.
Introduction
Once you know how to name triads (please see
Triads and
Naming Triads ), you need only a few more rules to be able to name all of the most common chords.
This skill is necessary for those studying music theory. It's also very useful at a "practical" level for composers, arrangers, and performers (especially people playing chords, like pianists and guitarists), who need to be able to talk to each other about the chords that they are reading, writing, and playing.
Chord manuals, fingering charts, chord diagrams, and notes written out on a staff are all very useful, especially if the composer wants a very particular sound on a chord. But all you really need to know are the name of the chord, your
major scales and
minor scales , and a few rules, and you can figure out the notes in any chord for yourself.
What do you need to know to be able to name most chords?
You must know your major, minor, augmented and diminished triads. Either have them all memorized, or be able to figure them out following the rules for triads. (See
Triads and
Naming Triads .)
You must be able to find intervals from the
root of the chord. One way to do this is by using the rules for intervals. (See
Interval .)
Or if you know your scales and don't want to learn about intervals, you can use the method in #3 instead.
If you know all your scales (always a good thing to know, for so many reasons), you can find all the intervals from the root using scales. For example, the "4" in Csus4 is the 4th note in a C (major or minor) scale, and the "minor 7th" in Dm7 is the 7th note in a D (natural) minor scale. If you would prefer this method, but need to brush up on your scales, please see
Major Keys and Scales and
Minor Keys and Scales .
Please note that the modern system of chord symbols, discussed below, is very different from the
figured bass shorthand popular in the seventeenth century (which is not discussed here). For example, the "6" in figured bass notation implies the first
inversion chord, not an added 6. (As of this writing, there was a very straightforward summary of figured bass at
Ars Nova Software .)
Chord symbols
Some instrumentalists, such as guitarists and pianists, are sometimes expected to be able to play a named chord, or an
accompaniment based on that chord, without seeing the notes written out in
common notation . In such cases, a
chord symbol above the
staff tells the performer what chord should be used as accompaniment to the music until the next symbol appears.
Chord symbols
A chord symbol above the staff is sometimes the only indication of which notes should be used in the
accompaniment . Chord symbols also may be used even when an accompaniment is written out, so that performers can read either the chord symbol or the notated music, as they prefer.
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