Chord Naming Conventions
Chord symbols provide a shorthand way of identifying a chord’s quality and the intervals it contains. A single chord may have more than one accepted abbreviation, so it is useful to recognize both the short and long forms.
The table below uses C as the root so the interval alterations (♭, ♯, 𝄫) are easy to recognize. Once you understand the interval formulas, you can apply them to any root note.
| Short Symbol | Long Symbol | Notes | Scale Degrees | Chord Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Cmaj | C - E - G | 1 - 3 - 5 | Major Triad |
| Cm | Cmin | C - E♭ - G | 1 - ♭3 - 5 | Minor Triad |
| C+ | Caug | C - E - G♯ | 1 - 3 - ♯5 | Augmented Triad |
| C° | Cdim | C - E♭ - G♭ | 1 - ♭3 - ♭5 | Diminished Triad |
| C7 | Cdom | C - E - G - B♭ | 1 - 3 - 5 - ♭7 | Dominant Seventh (Major-Minor Seventh) |
| CM7 | Cmaj7 | C - E - G - B | 1 - 3 - 5 - 7 | Major Seventh |
| Cm7 | Cmin7 | C - E♭ - G - B♭ | 1 - ♭3 - 5 - ♭7 | Minor Seventh |
| CM6 | Cmaj6 | C - E - G - A | 1 - 3 - 5 - 6 | Major Sixth |
| Cm6 | Cmin6 | C - E♭ - G - A | 1 - ♭3 - 5 - 6 | Minor Sixth |
| C+7 | Caug7 | C - E - G# - B♭ | 1 - 3 - #5 - ♭7 | Augmented Seventh |
| C°7 | Cdim7 | C - E♭ - G♭ - B𝄫 | 1 - ♭3 - ♭5 - 𝄫7 | Diminished Seventh |
| Cø7 | C half-dim | C - E♭ - G♭ - B♭ | 1 - ♭3 - ♭5 - ♭7 | Half-Diminished Seventh |
| CmM7 | CmMaj7 | C - E♭ - G - B | 1 - ♭3 - 5 - 7 | Minor-Major Seventh |