Musical chord

In general, an augmented chord is any chord which contains an augmented interval. An augmented sixth chord, for instance, has an augmented sixth between the highest and lowest notes. More specifically, the augmented chord is the triad consisting of a major third and augmented fifth above the root — if the root is C, the augmented chord consists of the notes C, E and G#. It can also be thought of as two major thirds stacked on top of one another, and thus resembles a major chord with a raised...

Generally, in music, a diminished chord is a chord which has a diminished fifth in it. More specifically, it is a triad (a diminished triad) consisting of a minor third and diminished fifth above the root — if built on C, a diminished chord would have a C, an Eb and a Gb. The interval between the upper two notes is also a minor third — thus, the chord consists of two minor thirds stacked on top of one another. It resembles a minor triad with a lowered (or diminished) fifth. In the common...

In music theory, the half-diminished seventh chord (also known as a minor seventh flat five) is created by taking the root, minor third, diminished fifth and minor seventh (1, ♭3, ♭5 and ♭7) of any major scale; for example, C half-diminished would be (C E♭ G♭ B♭). In diatonic harmony, the half-diminished chord naturally occurs on the 7th scale tone (for example, Bm7(♭5) in C major). By the same virtue, it also occurs on the second degree of natural minor (e.g. Dm7 (♭5) in C minor). Half...

A seventh chord is a chord consisting of a triad plus a note forming an interval of a seventh above the chord's root. When not otherwise specified, a "seventh chord" usually means a major triad and a flat seventh (a "dominant seventh chord"). However, a variety of sevenths may be added to a variety of triads, resulting in many different types of seventh chords, as described below. In its earliest usage, the seventh was introduced solely as an embellishing or nonchord tone. The seventh...

A minor/major seventh chord (written m/M7, minor major seventh and *lowercase root name*M7, such as am/M7) is a naturally occurring diatonic chord in the harmonic minor scale. The chord is built on a root, and above that the intervals of a minor third, a major third above that note and above that a major third. It can also be viewed as taking a minor triad and adding a major seventh. The traditional numeral notation is based on the degrees of the major scale, and by this notation a minor/major...

An augmented minor seventh chord comprises the root note, the note a major third above the root, the note an augmented fifth above the root, and the note a minor seventh above the root. For example, A augmented minor seventh chord contains A, C♯, E♯, and G.

A suspended chord is a chord in which the third is replaced or accompanied by either a Perfect fourth or a major second, although the fourth is far more common. This type of sound is borrowed from the contrapuntal technique of suspension, where a note from a previous chord is carried over to the next chord, and then resolved down to the third or tonic, suspending a note from the previous chord. However, in a suspended chord the added tone does not necessarily resolve, and is not necessarily ...

A borrowed chord is a chord borrowed from the parallel key. If the root of the borrowed chord is not in the original key, then they are named by the accidental. For instance, in major, a chord borrowed from the parallel minor's sixth degree is a "flat six chord" written VI. Borrowed chords are an example of mode mixture. Six chords borrowed from the parallel minor key are commonly found in the Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras (shown here in C major): The following three chords are also...

In music, an altered chord, an example of alteration, is a chord with one or more diatonic notes replaced by, or altered to, a neighboring pitch in the chromatic scale. For example the following progression : uses an altered IV chord and is an alteration of : The Ab serves as a leading tone to G. In jazz music, an altered chord is a dominant chord that has the 5th and the 9th raised and/or lowered by a single semi-tone. An altered chord may contain any of the following : They may be in any...

In music, a power chord is a bare fifth usually played on electric guitar. Traditionally the term chord is understood to mean three or more distinct notes, however this usage is well-accepted amongst guitar players. Therefore, many non-guitar players would consider a power chord to be a dyad or simply a harmonic interval. However, a power chord is conceived of and intended to be a minor or major triad with the third degree omitted, often with octave doubling. Power chords are used where a...

In music, extended chords are tertian chords (built from third) or triad with notes extended, or added, beyond the octave. Ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth chords are extended chords. The thirteenth is the furthest extension diatonically possible as, by that point, all seven tonal degrees are represented within the chord.In practice however, extended chords do not typically use all the chord members; when it is not altered, the fifth is often omitted, as are notes between the seventh and the...