Chord Symbols, Part II

Let's look at the structure of some very common chord symbols. Once you get the idea of how to read the simple symbols, reading more difficult ones is fairly easy.

From part one of this article, the three basic types of jazz chords are major, minor and dominant. The Cmaj7 (C major 7th) chord is C in the bass, E and B above. With that as a starting point, here are 3 variations on the Cmaj7 chord:

C6 (C major 6th) C bass, E and A above (A is the 6th)

C6/9 (C major 6, 9) C bass, E, A and D above (D is the ninth)

Cmaj9 (C major 9) C bass, E, B and D above (D is the ninth)

Below are 2 variations on the Cm7 (C minor 7th) chord, which has C in the bass, Eb and Bb above.

Cm6/9 (C minor 6, 9) C bass, Eb, A and D above (A is the sixth, D is the ninth)

Cm9 (C minor 9) C bass, Eb, Bb and D above (D is the ninth)

Below are 2 variations on the C7 (C dominant 7th) chord, which has C in the bass, E and Bb above.

C9 (C dominant 9) C bass, E, Bb and D above (D is the ninth)

C13 (C dominant 13) C bass, E, A and Bb above (A is the thirteenth)

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