Chord Symbols & Naming
Chord symbols are shorthand for communicating chords: "Cmaj7" means C major seventh, "Dm" means D minor, "G7#9" means G dominant seven sharp nine. Learning to read them fluently is essential for working with chord charts and lead sheets.
How Chord Symbols Work
Every chord symbol has a root note (a letter, optionally with # or b) followed by a quality modifier that indicates the chord type. No modifier means major: "C" means C major. Common modifiers:
| Symbol | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| C | Major triad | C-E-G |
| Cm | Minor triad | C-Eb-G |
| C7 | Dominant 7th | C-E-G-Bb |
| Cmaj7 | Major 7th | C-E-G-B |
| Cm7 | Minor 7th | C-Eb-G-Bb |
| Cdim | Diminished | C-Eb-Gb |
| Csus4 | Suspended 4th | C-F-G |
| Cadd9 | Added 9th (no 7th) | C-E-G-D |
Common Confusions
The most confusing distinction is "7" vs. "maj7". "C7" means dominant seventh (major triad + minor 7th), while "Cmaj7" means major seventh (major triad + major 7th). The bare "7" does not mean "major 7th" — this trips up many beginners.
Chord symbols also have multiple spellings: Cm = Cmin = C-. Cmaj7 = CΔ7 = CM7. Cdim = C°. These variants come from different musical traditions but all mean the same thing.
In ChordColor
ChordColor handles 44 distinct chord qualities across 12 roots, yielding 528 total chords. The app includes a search system that normalizes variant spellings, so you can search using any common notation style.