456 Appendix I Reference for Chord/Scale Relationships

Appendix I.
Reference for Chord/Scale Relationships
The chords in the following chart are sorted by single identifying pitches Triads may have perfect, di-
minished or augmented fifths; triads with perfect fifths can have a major or a minor third; a triad with
major third may have a minor or major seventh, and so on.

Fifth P5 d5 A5

Third M3 m3 m3 M3

Triads Major Minor Diminished Augmented

M7 m7 M7 m7 m7 d7 M7 m7
7th Maj7 Dom7 m maj7 m7 ø7 °7 maj #5 7#5
chords
7sus °maj7
9th Maj9 9 (n5) m maj9 m9 ø7#2 °7 with rare 9#5
chords & added
beyond tones*
Maj76/9 9 (13) mmaj7 6/9 m11
Maj7(#11) 7 b 9 (n5) m 6/9
Maj7 7 b 9 (b13)
# #
( 11/ 9)
7 #9 (n5)
7 #9 (b 13)
9 (#11)
7 (b 9 b 5)
7 (b 5 #9)
13 (b 9)
13 (#9)
9 (b 13)
13 (#11b 9)
9sus
7susb 9

*(usually a whole step above one of the chord tones, ex. E°7 with F#, A, C, or D# added)

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 Appendix I Reference for Chord/Scale Relationships 457

There are many shorthand symbols for chords. There is no single agreed upon standard so one should
be familiar with and expect to find a number of possibilities. Here is a partial list of symbols you may
encounter:

C major 7 = Cmaj7, Cma7, CM7, C∆7 (C∆ can also mean just a major triad). In some parts of
the world the triangle is unknown. “M” can cause problems depending on the accuracy of pen-
manship. Rehearsals have stopped to measure the size of the “M’s” to determine major or mi-
nor. The “maj” abbreviation is clear. C6 may be encountered in older music, and means C ma-
jor with an added sixth. C6 does not mean C13, as C13 implies a dominant seventh chord. A C2
chord indicates the root, second and fifth but may often be in first inversion as C2/E.

C minor 7 = Cm7, Cmi7, Cmin7, C–7. The “–” sign can be ambiguous, the “mi” and “min” un-
necessary. Using “maj” for major and “m” for minor and staying consistent should insure your
symbols are clearly understood. A Cm6 means a minor chord with an added major sixth. If a
minor sixth is wanted above the minor chord it may occur as: Cmb6, Cm#5 (even though by def-
inition a minor chord has a perfect fifth), or Ab /C. Cm6/9 indicates a major sixth and major
ninth added to the chord.

C half-diminished = Cø7, Cm7b5, Cmin7 b5, C–7b5. This chord is found naturally in both the
major and harmonic minor scales. Showing it with an alteration is unnecessary when there is a
symbol (ø) which means half-diminished. The 7 is redundant, since this chord cannot half-di-
minished without the seventh, but is common practice to include it in the symbol.

C minor major 7 = Cmmaj7, Cm∆7, C–∆7. I would try to avoid the triangle and the “-” and use
the “m” for the minor third, and the “maj” to refer to the seventh. Try to separate the two to
avoid “mmaj7.” A Cmmaj 76/9 indicates a major sixth and major ninth added to the minor ma-
jor seventh chord.

Slash Chords: Some chords are created by placing one chord on top of another bass note or
on top of another chord. The resulting sound is usually called a polychord, though a true poly-
chord would only be the stacking of two chords, one on top of the other. These chords can be
named in a traditional way but are often notated with slashes indicating the two chords or the
chord and the different bass note. A common practice is to notate true polychords with a hori-
zontal slash (—) with the top chord on top, the bottom chord on the bottom, and to notate
chords with different bass notes with a (/) where the first part is the chord, the second part indi-
cates the bass note. For example:
D
C= D triad over a C triad C/D = C triad over a D bass note

Raised notes (#) should be shown with the universally understood musical sign “#.” Raised notes
may occur as “+” so that C7 with a raised ninth may appear as: C7#9, C7+9, and even the C7 9+.
The plus sign is often misread as “add,” so that C7+9 could be interpreted as C7 add a ninth
(D#) when someone meant a D#. The “+” sign could also refer to the fifth so that someone may
interpret the C7+9 or C7 9+ as a C9 chord with a raised fifth.

Lowered notes (b) should be shown with the universally understood musical sign “b” Lowered
notes may occur as “–” so that C7 with a lowered ninth may appear as: C7 b9, or C7 –9, and even
the C7 9–. In music notation # means raise and b means lower so these symbols are preferable to
the (+) and (–).

Extensions: When discussing scales use numbers 1-7 or 1-8. When discussing tertian chords use
the odd numbers: 1-3-5-7-9-11-13. The sixth degree of the scale in a chord is the thirteenth, so C
13, not C6; C9 #11, not C9 #4.

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458 Appendix I Reference for Chord/Scale Relationships

CHORD/SCALE RELATIONSHIPS
SCALES
SCALES FORMULA
1 Major W W 1/2 W W W 1/2
2 Harmonic Minor W 1/2 W W 1/2 A2 1/2
3 Melodic Minor W 1/2 W W W W 1/2
4 Major with a b6 (Harmonic Major) W W 1/2 W 1/2 A2 1/2
5 Diminished (1/2 Whole)
6 Diminished (Whole 1/2)
7 Whole Tone WWWWWW
8 Augmented minor 3rd 1/2 m3 1/2 m3

1. 2. 3.

& ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ & ˙ ˙ b˙ ˙ ˙ b˙ n˙ ˙ & ˙ ˙ b˙ ˙ ˙ n˙ n˙ ˙

4. 5. 6.

& ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙ b˙ ˙ ˙ & ˙ b˙ b˙ n˙ #˙ n˙ ˙ b˙ ˙ & ˙ ˙ b˙ ˙ #˙ #˙ ˙ ˙ ˙

7. 8.

& ˙ ˙ ˙ #˙ #˙ b˙ ˙ & ˙ #˙ ˙ ˙ b˙ n˙ ˙

Diminished scale is like a diminished 7 chord with leading tones to each chord tone and an augmented
scale is like an augmented triad with leading tones to each chord tone.

Diminished Scale Augmented Scale

& œ b˙ #œ ˙ #œ n˙ œ b˙ & œ b˙ nœ ˙
#œ ˙

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 Appendix I Reference for Chord/Scale Relationships 459

CHORDS with SCALE SOURCES:

CHORD TYPE SCALE SOURCE CHARACTERISTICS

1 Major 7 Ionian; 1st mode Major n4, 7
2 Major 7 Lydian; 4th mode Major #11
3 Major 7 6th mode Harmonic Minor #9, #11
4 Major 7 Major with a b6 b6 or b13
5 Major 7 Augmented Maj/Min3, 5, #5 or b6

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

& ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ #œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ #œ ˙ #œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ bœ ˙ œ ˙ #œ ˙ ˙ bœ ˙ œ

CHORD TYPE SCALE SOURCE CHARACTERISTICS

6 Minor 7 Dorian; 2nd mode Major Major 6, m3
7 Minor 7 Aeolian; 6th mode Major b6, b3
8 Minor 7 Phrygian; 3rd mode Major b2, b6
9 Minor 7 4th mode Harmonic Minor #4
10 Minor 7 Dorian 2; 2nd mode Melodic b2
b
Minor

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

& ˙ œ b˙ œ ˙ œ b˙ œ ˙ œ b˙ œ ˙ bœ b˙ œ ˙ bœ b˙ œ ˙ bœ b˙ œ ˙ œ b˙ #œ ˙ œ b˙ œ ˙ bœ b˙ œ ˙ œ b˙ œ

CHORD TYPE SCALE SOURCE CHARACTERISTICS

11 ø7 Locrian; 7th mode Major b5, b2
12 ø7 2nd mode Harmonic Minor b5, b2
13 ø7 Locrian 2; 6th mode of Melodic #2
#
Minor
14 ø7 2nd mode Major with a b6 #2

11. 12. 13. 14.

& ˙ bœ b˙ œ b˙ bœ b˙ œ
bœ b˙ œ
b˙ nœ b˙ œ
œ b˙ œ
b˙ bœ b˙ œ
œ b˙ œ
b˙ nœ b˙ œ
˙ ˙ ˙

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460 Appendix I Reference for Chord/Scale Relationships

CHORD TYPE SCALE SOURCE CHARACTERISTICS

15 Minor/Major 7 1st mode Harmonic Minor b6
16 Minor/Major 7 1st mode Melodic Minor n6
17 Minor/Major 7 4th mode Major with a b6 #11
18 Minor/Major 7 Augmented Maj/Min3, 5, #5

15. 16 17. 18.

& ˙ œ b˙ ˙ bœ ˙ œ
œ b˙ œ ˙ nœ n˙ œ
œ b˙ #œ ˙ œ ˙ œ
˙ bœ ˙ œ
œ
˙ ˙ ˙ b˙ nœ

CHORD TYPE SCALE SOURCE CHARACTERISTICS

19 Major 7 #5 3rd mode Harmonic Minor #5, n4
20 Major 7 #5 3rd mode Melodic Minor #5, #11
21 Major 7 #5. Major with a b6 n5, b13
Major 7 b6 or b13
22 Major 7 #5 6th mode Major with a b6 #5, #9, #11
23 Major 7 #5 Augmented Maj/Min3, 5, #5

19. 20. 21. 22. 23.

& ˙ œ ˙ œ #˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ #œ #˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ bœ n˙ œ ˙ #œ ˙ #œ #˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ #œ ˙ ˙ bœ ˙ œ

CHORD TYPE SCALE SOURCE CHARACTERISTICS

24 Diminished 7 7th mode Harmonic Minor Traditional sound
25 Diminished 7 Diminished W 1/2 Tones whole step above each chord
member available
26 Diminished 7 7th mode Major with a b6
27 Diminished 7 6th mode Major with a b6

24. 25. 26. 27.

& #˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ b˙ #œ #˙ #œ ˙ #œ ˙ œ b˙ nœ #œ #˙ œ ˙ #œ ˙ nœ b˙ #œ b˙ ˙ œ ˙ œb˙ œ bœ

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 Appendix I Reference for Chord/Scale Relationships 461

CHORD TYPE SCALE SOURCE CHARACTERISTICS

28 Dominant 7 Mixolydian; 5th mode Major n9, n5,13
29 Dominant 7 5th mode Harmonic Minor b9, b13
30 Dominant 7 5th mode Major with a b6 13, b9
31 Dominant 7 3rd mode Major with a b6 b9, #9, b13, n5
32 Dominant 7 Lydian b 7; 4th mode Melodic 9, #11, 13
Minor
33 Dominant 7 Super locrian; 7th mode Melodic b9, #9, b13, b5
Minor
34 Dominant 7 Mixolydian b6; 5th mode Melodic b13
Minor
35 Dominant 7 Diminished 1/2 W 13, b9, #11
36 Dominant 7 Whole Tone 9, #5

28. 29. 30. 31. 32.

& ˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ œ b˙ œ ˙ bœ ˙ œ ˙ bœ b˙ œ ˙ bœ ˙ œ ˙ œ b˙ œ ˙ bœ bœ b˙ ˙ bœb˙ œ ˙ œ ˙ #œ ˙ œ b˙ œ

33. 34 35. 36.

& ˙ bœ bœ b˙ bœ bœ b˙ œ
˙ œ ˙ bœ b˙ œ
bœ bœ n˙ #œ ˙ œ b˙
œ
˙ #œ #œ b˙
œ
˙ œ ˙ ˙ œ

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462 Appendix I Reference for Chord/Scale Relationships

SCALES with DERIVED CHORDS:

MAJOR SCALE CHORD TYPES

1st Major 7
2nd Minor 7
3rd Minor 7
4th Major 7
5th Dominant 7
6th Minor 7
7th ø7

C Cm aj7 Cmaj9 C 69maj7 C6 C2 C2/E Dm Dm7 Dm9 Dm11 Em Em7

ww ww www www w ww www ww

& www w ww www
ww w w w w ww w www w
?w w ww w www
w w w w w w w w w w w

F Fmaj7
#
Fmaj9 Fmaj7 11 G G7 G9 G13 G7sus4 G9sus4 G13sus4

www ww ww ww www
& www ww
w
ww
w www w
www w w w ww
w
www
w w
w
ww ww ww ww ww ww ww
?w w w w w

Am Am7 Am 9 Am11 B° Bø7 Bø711

w ww ww www ww
& ww w w w ww ww w
w w
ww ww w
?w w
w w w

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 Appendix I Reference for Chord/Scale Relationships 463

HARMONIC MINOR CHORD TYPES

1st Minor (major 7)
2nd ø7
3rd Major 7 #5
4th Minor 7
5th Dominant 7
6th Major 7
7th °7

Cm Cm maj 7 Cm maj 9 D° Dø7 Dø711 E baug

#
E bmaj7 5
w
b n www b n www b www
& b www b ww ww
b www w www w
? b ww bw bw
w w w w w

b b9 b
Fm Fm 7 Fm9 G G7 G7 9 G7b 13 G7sus4 G7sus 9

& b www w
b b ww
w
b ww
n www n www b www b b www ww b wwww
w
? w w b ww w w n ww n ww w w

# 11
Ab A bmaj7 b # A maj7# 9
b Ab
A maj7 9 G B° B°7 B°7(add G)

b b www b ww www n www

b n wwww
& w n w w ww
bw ww b ww bw
? bw bw bw b ww b b www ww
w w

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464 Appendix I Reference for Chord/Scale Relationships

MAJOR with a b6 CHORD TYPE

(Harmonic Major)
1st Major 7
1st Major 7 b6
2nd iiø7
3rd Dominant 7
(#9, b9, b13, n5)
4th Minor (major 7)
5th Dominant 7 (b9, n13)
6th Major 7 #5
6th °7, °maj7
7th °7

#9
b # E7b 13
Cm aj7 6 Dø7 2
www E7alt.
ww
& ww b ww
www
w w
b ww w
? ww b www # www # www
w

Fm maj 7
#
Fm maj 9 Fm maj 7 11 F°maj9
Em b
G13 9
Fm

& b www w b n www ww www b ww

ww w w
? w b ww b www b ww b www w
w

#
A bm aj7 5 G/A b A b°maj7 B°7 B°7(add E ) B°7(add G)

& www ww ww w w
w w b ww b ww b ww
? www ww
bw bw bw w

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MELODIC MINOR CHORD TYPE

1st Minor (major 7)
2nd Minor 7 (b9) or 7susb9
3rd Major 7 #5
4th Dominant 9 #11
Lydian dominant
5th Dominant 9 b13
6th ø7 #2
7th Dominant 7
(#9, b9, b13, b5,)

Cm Cm maj 7 Cm maj 9 Aø7/D

#
Aø7 2/D E baug
#
E bmaj7 5

w w
& b www b n www b n www b www b www b www ww
w
? ww ww
w w w w bw bw

#
F9 11 G9 b 13
#
Aø7 2 B7alt.

www b ww www www

& bw w bw bw

? ww ww ww w
w

1/2W DIMINISHED CHORD TYPE

Dominant 7
(b9, #9, n13, #11)

# 11 # 11 b9 b9 #9
b
C7 9 C7b 9 C7# 9 #
C13 11
#
C7 9 #
C13 11
w
& b ww
bw b b # www # b # www b b # wwww b # ww # # www
? ww b b wwww
ww ww ww ww w

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W1/2 DIMINISHED CHORD TYPE

°7, °7 with added notes

C°7 C°7(add B ) C°7(add D) C°m aj7(add D) C°7(add F ) C°7(add A b)

w w
& b # ww b # www b # ww b # www n ww b b www
w w
? w w w w b # www # www
w w w

WHOLE TONE CHORD TYPE

Dominant 7 (9, #5)

#
C7 5
b
C7 5
#
C9 5
##
C9 5 11
# ww
& # ww b ww # www # ww

? b ww bw
w
bw
w
bw
w

AUGMENTED CHORD TYPE

Major 7 #5
Major 7
minor (major 7)

#5 B aug.
#
Cmaj7 5 Cm maj 7 Cm aj7# 9 C aug.

& # ww b www # # www # www

w
? w w # www
w w

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