Lesson 3c - Leadsheet Notation

Class Discussion

The general naming system that we have used thus far allows us to talk about general categories of triads and seventh chords, but does not allow us to specify the exact root of a chord. Leadsheet notation is a shorthand method written above the staff that specifies a chord’s root and quality. Leadsheet notation never had a centralized authority, so over many decades, it evolved various ways to denote the same chord qualities.

Leadsheet notation consists of a note name followed by a chord shorthand. The note name denotes the root of the chord, and is most commonly an upper-case letter regardless of the chord’s quality. Some systems use a lower-case letter for minor chords, but this is less common and can become prolematic if the writer’s penmanship is poor. For this course, please always use an upper-case root.

The chord quality shorthand can vary greatly, so we have listed the more common possibilites below for chords with a root of C. I have listed them in my order of preference – again taking student penmanship into account. Clarity should be valued above brevity.

• Major Triad: C (no shorthand necessary, just a capital root name)
• Minor Triad: Cmin, Cm, C-
• Augmented Triad: Caug, C⁺

• Diminished Triad: Cdim, C^o

• Major major (major seventh chord): Cmaj⁷, C^M7, C^Δ
• Major minor (dominant seventh chord): C⁷
• Minor minor (minor seventh chord): Cmin⁷, Cm⁷, C-⁷
• Diminished minor (half-diminished seventh chord): C^ø7, C^ø, Cmin^7(♭5)
• Diminished diminished (fully-diminished seventh chord): Cdim⁷, C^o7

Inversions

We are also able to show chord inversions in leadsheet notation by using slash-chords. To use slashchords, you use standard standard leadsheet notation followed by a slash (/) and then the bass note. This allows you to show any inversion. For example:

• C⁷/E is a C dominant seventh chord in first-inversion.
• C⁷/G is a C dominant seventh chord in second-inversion.
• C⁷/B♭ is a C dominant seventh chord in third-inversion.

Extended harmonies

Some forms of tertian harmony use chords that have extensions beyond the seventh. Because we consider these extensions as stacked thirds continuing above the seventh chord, we typically uses the terms ninth for the second scale degree, eleventh for the fourth scale degree, and thirteenth for the sixth scale degree. If you have Cmin¹¹ implies that it has the normal minor seventh chord with both the diatonic ninth and eleventh added above it.

As with standard leadsheet notation for seventh chords, if you have a number alone, it always implies a dominant seventh chord with extensions. A C¹³ is a dominant seventh chord with extensions up to the thirteenth. (One notable exception is the C^6/9 chord. This chord implies a major seventh.)

Sub and Add

The two commands sub and add are useful when writing leadsheet notation of non-standard chords. Admittedly, these will not be used much in diatonic harmony, but understanding their usage now will help when we move into chromatic harmonies.

Because triads and seventh chords are built in thirds, every third above the root has a predetermined quality based on the chord quality and root. If you would like to alter one of those chordal members, you can use the sub followed by an altered chordal member to imply that you are replacing that chordal member. For example, the alternate method for half-diminished seventh chords comes from this. Because a diminished triad is a minor triad with a lowered fifth chordal member, you could use the leadsheet notation for a minor seventh chord and substitute a lowered 5th. This would look like:

Cmin^{7(sub♭5)}

Admittedly, this method for notating half-diminished seventh chords is common enough that it is not required to use “sub” in this particular example, but this is still an excellent example of the proper way to use the sub command.

Add, on the other hand, does not alter any of the chordal members, but insteads adds an extra chord tone. If you would like to add a lowered thirteenth to a minor 7th chord without adding the ninth and eleventh, you could use:

Cmin^{7(add♭13)}

Further Reading

From Open Music Theory

Lead-sheet symbols

A triad can be summed up by a single symbol, such as a lead-sheet chord symbol. A lead sheet symbol includes information about both root quality, as well as which pitch class occurs in the lowest voice (called the bass regardless of who is singing or playing that pitch).

A lead-sheet symbol begins with a capital letter (and, if necessary, an accidental) denoting the root of the chord. That letter is followed by information about a chord’s quality:

• major triad: no quality symbol is added
• minor triad: lower-case “m”
• diminished triad: lower-case “dim” or a degree sign “°”
• augmented triad: lower-case “aug” or a plus sign “+”

Finally, if a pitch class other than the chord root is the lowest note in the chord, a slash is added, followed by a capital letter denoting the pitch class in the bass (lowest) voice.

A C-major triad’s lead-sheet symbol is simply C. A C-minor triad is Cm. A D-sharp-diminished triad with an F-sharp in the bass is D#dim/F#. And so on.