FOUR-NOTE CHORDS

If we add one third above a triad, the result is a four-note chord or a seventh chord; the interval between the
bottom and top notes is a seventh. The symbol for four-note chords or seventh chords is 7.

Sometimes four-note chords are classified on the basis of the types of triads and sevenths used. The symbol
maj7 (major seventh) stands for a chord with a major chord and the M7 interval counted from the root.
Correspondingly, a half-diminished 7th chord, 7/7 5, has a diminished triad and a m7.

Minor keys are richer in chords of different types than major keys; they also include a minor triad with a major
7th on the I degree and a diminished 7th on the VII degree.

Four-note chords in a major scale

Four-note chords in a minor scale

Less common chords in a minor scale

Below is a table containing chord symbols and absolute chord symbols. Other structures of thirds, for example
"augmented major seventh" on the III degree of a minor scale, are possible but rare.

major seventh ds7 Cmaj7

dominant seventh dp7 G7

minor major seventh ms7 Cmmaj7

minor seventh mp7 Am7

half-diminished seventh vp7 Dm7 5 or D7

diminished seventh vv7 Hdim7 or H 7 (or Bdim7 and B7)

Four-note chord inversions and scale degree symbols
When a seventh interval from the bass is added to a triad, the chord gets the upper index 7 and the resulting
four-note chord is named a seventh chord.

The indexes derive from the Baroque figured bass markings, where chords were indicated with a number in
connection with a bass note. The numbers showed the intervals included in the harmony from the bass
upwards.

It was possible to write homophonic music with several parts quickly when only a few numbers were added to
the melody and bass lines. Harpsichordists implemented the numberings, applying their musicianship and
improvisational skills.

Four chord notes included three intervals counted from the bass, but in notation they were soon standardized
to show only certain intervals.

In the first inversion, the 3rd appears as the lowest tone (five and six from the bass note); in the second
inversion, the 5th is the lowest tone; in the third inversion, the 7th is lowest.

As late as the 19th century, composers and musicians thought about harmonies by using the figured bass
symbols as the bass line, which was considered to show the most determinative note of the harmony. A later
tradition is to discuss chords, which include the same notes, in terms of inversions of a scale degree. In this
tradition, notes are stacked as a pile of thirds, and the inversion is determined by the lowest (bass) note of
the pile.

The traditional way of writing a four-note chord is complex: first we form a pile of thirds, and then we find out
the interval relationship between the bottom note and the real root note of the chord, in other words define
the inversion. Even though complex, the method is quite common.
In the animation below we see some ways of forming a pile of thirds.

Two superimposed thirds form a frame of fifths. When the fifths are interposed, the result is a pile of thirds.
Thus, it is enough to find the fifth (or fourth) in a chord and place the notes between (thirds) into the frame
(bars 14). Correspondingly, thirds and sevenths can be part of a four-note chord (bars 58). One and the same
chord can, on two staves, form highly different interval structures (bars 912).

The ground note or the root of a chord is the lowest note of an uninverted chord. In chord inversions, the
interval highest in the chord index indicates the actual root of the chord.

The original way of perceiving chords may feel awkward if one is used to thinking of all harmonies as piles of
thirds. It is, however, useful in recognizing chords; it is unnecessary to name more than three intervals. It is
often possible to recognize the root note (and the scale degree) by just one interval (numbers in bold below):

in a seventh chord intervals 3, 5 and 7

in a first inversion 3, 5 and 6
in a second inversion 3, 4 and 6
in a third inversion 2, 4 and 6

The current concept of harmony has in some ways been shackled by the idea of piles of thirds. It was not until
the 20th century that art musicians were able to discuss harmonies in other forms than superimposed thirds.

Added notes in four-note jazz chords

Functional harmony in jazz is usually based on four-note chords. The function is determined by the third and
the seventh:

minor third and minor seventh: subdominant

major third and minor seventh: dominant
major seventh: tonic (minor or major).

The fifth has no effect on the function. In a tonic, the fourth note can also be a sixth instead of a major
seventh. This is actually a more traditional (and less dissonant) form. It is worth noting that in a minor tonic
chord the sixth is always major. This sixth common in popular music is not to be confused with the sixth chord
in classical music theory denoting the first inversion of a triad.

A four-note chord can be extended by added notes 9, 11, and 13. While added notes affect the colour or tone
quality of the chord, they have no effect on the function. Added notes can also be altered in the same way as
the fifth of a chord. The most alterable is the dominant chord with a possibility for both 5 (=#11), #5, 9, and
#9. A practical help for remembering the "forbidden" added notes is to avoid a minor ninth (or augmented
eighth). The only exception is the 9 common in a minor 7th (resolving into a tonic fifth). Therefore, an m7 5
chord can include only a major ninth, a major and a dominant chord can include only a #11, and so on.

Examples of four-note chords with added and altered

notes:
The following rules usually apply to chord symbols:

if an interval larger than a seventh is added, minor seventh is not written (root note + added note,
e.g., E9)
if the added note is altered, for example C7 9, minor seventh is written
common symbols: Cmaj7=CD, Cm7=C-7, Cdi

DIMINISHED FOUR-NOTE CHORD

One of the most versatile chords is the chord building on the VII degree of a minor key known as the diminished
four-note chord. The term is used in classical music theory because, counting from the root, it includes as
many as two diminished intervals: dim5 and dim7.

The most common absolute chord symbol is dim7 or 7. In principle, the abbreviation "dim" or the degree sign
both denote a triad, but in practice, the chord often gets a third piled on top of the others.

The chord consists of the active notes of a key, which makes it a highly active and dominant chord. It can also
be perceived as a dominant chord with a minor ninth but without a root note (bar 2).

The diminished four-note chord is common also in parallel majors (bar 3). It is also worth noting that chord
tension is added by interposed tritones (bar 4).

A chord with a dominant character, the diminished four-note chord can also act as a secondary dominant. In
the example below, chromatically altered notes progress to the following chord according to their signs. At
least one of the two tritones resolves into a third or a sixth.

ABSOLUTE CHORD SYMBO LS

Guitar chord symbols or absolute chord symbols are the most common international chord labelling system in
popular music. The chord is named after the root; then follows numbers and other indexes (for example,
chromatic signs) denoting the interval counted from the root.
Chord symbols are based on the note names used in English; in Finland, we would use "H major" for B and "H
minor" for Bm. National chord notations are, however, used in several countries, for example, C7 would be Do7
in Spain and Italy.

In Finland, the traditional national notation system is followed in, for example, several song books. To avoid
confusion and be on the safe side, the Finnish note labelling system writes the note B as H; in other words, B
by itself is not used at all.

There is no generally accepted standard for absolute chord symbols. Still, an experienced musician usually
interprets the symbols correctly, probably because of the somewhat schematic nature of harmonies in popular
music. The numeric index can also be of the same size as the preceding letter (for example, G7). In the
example below, the indexes are smaller than the letter.

The implementation of the chord symbols depends on the genre, instruments available, performers, and even
the situation. The text below is intended to help the reader understand chord symbols and to promote
uniformity in notation.

Chord symbol groupings

A typical sound progression in jazz and popular music is "II - V - I"; in the same way, the example below
classifies the chords as tonic, subdominant, and dominant. The first group (I chords) represents a typical first-
degree chord of a key, a secondary tonic. In the second group, we have chords preparing a (secondary)
dominant. The fourth group includes "other chords", often classified further in various jazz theory books.

The numbers in the text refer to bar numbers in the example. The staff usually includes only one alternative;
the text introduces several.

It is worth noting that notation is quite a formal presentation of chords. In a chord the notes are essential; the
choice of range is usually not regulated except for the lowest note.

Implementation of chords on an instrument usually follows the principles of voice leading; a chord may consist
of notes from several octave ranges, and they can also be omitted completely. Moreover, in jazz it is quite
common to play, for example, G7 in a multitude of versions (G7alt, G13#11, and so on). Therefore, the table is
an abstraction, not a manual on how to play the chords. The texts also include further information on chords,
hopefully useful when learning to understand the structure of harmonies in tonal music.

Absolute chord symbols