The Conundrum of Chords

Chords. I've been seeing them for 17 years, and they never cease to amaze me... As i was classically trained, the only chords i knew of was a simple Major and Minor chord.. I was surprised to find out there were a lot more actually.. I've taken my time to study them and understand them to the best way possible as knowledge of the chords are very important in contemporary music... and today, i am proud to say that i have understood the chords and the way they shape up, and their connection to other chords...

For simplicity's sake, I'm going to use the C key as my platform to demonstrate my understanding of the chords...

C Major (C Maj) chord. It consists of a tonic triad of notes, which is C, E, G.

C Minor (Cm) chord. It consists of a tonic triad of notes, but in the minor key of C. Therefore, the notes in the chord is C, Eb, G.

C Augmented Triad (C+/C aug) chord. Basically, it consists of the C Maj chord, but the 5 th note(G)  is augmented. NOTES - C, E, G#.

C Suspended 4th (C sus4) chord. It consists of the C Maj chord, but the 4th note (F) is played instead of the 3rd (E). NOTES -  C, F,G.

C Diminished Triad (Co/C dim) chord. It consists of the C Maj chord. Since it's a diminished chord, the 3rd (E) and 5th (G) notes are flatten. NOTES - C, Eb, Gb.

C Major 6th (C6) chord. It consists of the C Maj chord, played with the major 6th note (A). 

NOTES - C, E, G, A.

C Minor 6th (Cm6) chord. It consists of the Cm chord, played with the major 6th note (A).

NOTES - C, Eb, G, A.

C Major 7th (Cmaj7) chord. It consists of the C Maj chord, played with a major 7th note (B).

NOTES  - C, E, G, B.

C Minor 7th (Cm7) chord. It consists of the Cm chord, played with a minor 7th note (Bb).

NOTES - C, Eb, G, Bb.

C Dominant 7th (C7) chord. It consists of the C Maj chord, played with a flatten 7th note (Bb).

NOTES - C, E, G, Bb.

C Dominant 7th sus 4 (C7 sus4) chord. It consists of C7 chord, played with a suspended 4th (F instead of E). NOTES - C, F, G, Bb.

C Dominant 7th Augmented 5th (C7+5) chord. It consists of C7 chord, played with an augmented 5th note (G#). NOTES - C, E, G#, Bb.

C Dominant 7th Flattened 5th (C7-5) chord. It consists of C7 chord, played with a flattened 5th note (Gb). NOTES - C, E, Gb, Bb.

C Diminished 7th (C dim7) chord. It consists of C dim chord, played with a diminished 7th note (Bbb). NOTES - C, Eb, Gb, Bbb.

C Minor 7th Flattened 5th (Cm7-5) chord. It consists of Cm7 chord, played with a flattened 5th note (Gb). NOTES - C, Eb, Gb, Bb.

C Minor-Major 7th (Cmmaj7) chord. it consists of Cm chord, played with a major 7th note (B).

NOTES - C, Eb, G, B.

C Major 9th (C maj9) chord. It consists of C Maj7 chord, played with a major 9th note (D). 

NOTES - C, E, G, B, D.

C Minor 9th (Cm9) chord. It consists of Cm7 chord, played with a major 9th note (D).

NOTES - C, Eb, G, Bb, D.

C Dominant 9 (C9) chord. It consists of C7 chord, played with a major 9th note (D).

NOTES - C, E, G, Bb, D.

C 9th Augmented 5th (C9+5) chord. It consists of C9 chord, played together with an augmented 5th note (G#). NOTES - C, E, G#, Bb, D.

C 9th Flattened 5th (C9-5) chord. It consists of C9 chord, played together with a flattened 5th note (Gb). NOTES - C, E, Gb, Bb, D.

C 9th Add 6th (C9/6) chord. It consists of C9 chord, played together with a major 6th note (A). 

NOTES - C, E, G, A, Bb, D.

C Major 11th (C Maj11) chord. It consists of C9 chord, played together with a major 11th note (F). NOTES - C, E, G, B, D, F.

C Minor 11th (Cm11) chord. It consists of Cm9 chord, played together with a major 11th note (F). NOTES - C, Eb, G, Bb, D, F.

C Dominant 11th (C11) chord. It consists of C9 chord, played together with a major 11th note (F). NOTES - C, E, G, Bb, D, F.

C 11th Flattened 9th (C11-9) chord. It consists of C11 chord, played together with a flattened 9th note (Db). NOTES - C, E, G, Bb, Db, F.

C Major 13th (C Maj13) chord. It consists of C Maj 11 chord, played together with a major 13th note (A). NOTES - C, E, G, B, D, F, A.

C Minor 13th (Cm13) chord. It consists of Cm11 chord, played together with a major 13th note (A). NOTES - C, Eb, G, Bb, D, F, A.

C Dominant 13 (C13) chord. It consists of C11 chord, played together with a major 13th note (A). NOTES - C, E, G, Bb, D, F, A.

C 13th Flattened 9th (C13-9) chord. It consists of C13 chord, played together with a flattened 9th (Db). NOTES - C, E, G, Bb, Db, F, A.

***Always remember that the highest note in 9th, 11th, and 13th chords must always be the tension note! 

eg: C13 - C, E, G, Bb, D, F, A

    C11- C, E, G, Bb, D, F

   C9- C, E, G, Bb, D

C13--- A = TENSION  NOTE 

C11---F = TENSION NOTE

C9---D = TENSION NOTE ***