Every possible Chord Symbol EXPLAINED 

Enjoy full access to over 40,000 sheet music works with a Tomplay 14 day free trial: tomplay.com/premium-trial?ref=davidbennett6 🎼 📌 Also, at 5:45 there is a typo... there shouldn't be a flat next to the note C. It should be a C natural, not C flat. Sorry for any confusion and thanks to the commenters who pointed that out 😅😊

1:46 Even people with the greatest willpower on Earth wouldn't be able to resist making this joke.

this video is like having all the pieces of a puzzle suddenly all coming together. one of the most informative videos on this topic, amazing work!

I wish you were alive when I was learning music! It took me years to figure out all of these chord symbols, and here you are giving out all this precious info in 16 minutes 🤣

This is absolutely the best music theory channel out there, straight to business, extremely clear descriptions and visuals, and ordered perfectly for anyone to learn piece by piece. I feel like my knowledge has increased immensely since subscribing, and this is coming from someone who hasn't studied theory from year 9.

the last chord you showed is a G(add2)(add6)(add7)(add10)(add11)(omit3)(omit5) very jazzy indeed

It’s insane how a year ago I barely knew any music theory and now I’m actually able to understand everything in this vid.

1:47 that sussy among us character appearance absolutely cracked me up

4:59 in jazz terminology it is worth to keep in mind that you will NEVER omit the third unless very clearly specified. The third and seventh is pretty much seen as the essence and charcter of the chord to the point where you can manage with those two notes alone (if you play with a bass player that will play the root) in the case of the C13 in jazz you would omit the 11’th for reasons i will explain below. I know in some music (mainly pop and soul) you might see C11 and C13 understood as a Bb/C and Bb^7/c like David did here. However in jazz this Bb/c would be considered a sus chord. So C7sus11 and the Bb^7/c would be considered a C7sus13. Also in traditional jazz you would never use a major or dominant 11 chord due to the clash between the 11 and the major third of the chord which creates a dissonant b2/b9 interval - therefore you will often sharpen the 11th to get a more consonant M2/M9 interval to avoid this clash. Hence the reason that the third is omitted when writing a C11 in pop/soul. This is not a problem with minor chords why you will more often find m11 chords. In more modern jazz, more open voicings, clusters and dissonance are more accepted so here you will se major and dominant 11 chords that have both the 11th and major third of the chord. So to sum up Bb/c = C11 in pop = C7sus11 in jazz (C11 in modern jazz refer to a chord with have both 11th and major third) Bb^7/c = C13 in pop = C7sus13 in jazz

Man you can't know how much useful this video will be, I've always wanted to look at the subject but never had the motivation neither found a good video about it ; you're definitely gonna change that, thanks a lot!

“A Cmaj11, which for fun we’ll put as a triangle” direct quote from musicians making their notation as indecipherable as possible

As a person with years of classical training, who is now deep into jazz on steel pan, this was SUPER helpful. Thank you!

I actually understood wtf

I have also stumbled upon minor chords being symbolised by a lowercase letter, so basically D Minor just written as d

I'm actually a drummer but I'm also a music theory nerd so I really like this!

For 13 chords, the most standard practice is to omit the 11th and/or 5th, not the 3rd. For major 11-chords, the 3rd is typically omitted, but to avoid confusion, this chord is now taught as "9sus4" in the US.

That last one could also be spelled as a polychord (F over Em with a horizontal, not diagonal slash), but you’re right, you’d pretty certainly have to write the actual voicing out to get what you wanted.

Thanks Mr Bennett, I needed this for reading more difficult jazz charts!

honestly thanks david. understanding certain chord sequences was something i struggled with but i sort of learned to live with. it is amazing that i finally understand them now and use the correct notes without guessing lol

Such a great idea to make this video! It's hard to believe no one would think about doing it before. I wish it would exist back when I started to learn songs and harmony. Thanks a lot David for doing it with your usual crystal-like clarity

I’ve quiet learning music theory over and over again so many times because I get overwhelmed so easily. Your videos are helping me not get overwhelmed and learn things one by one. Im so thankful of your videos!

Legend. I really admire how you keep your explanations concise, yet still clear and complete. That takes a lot of hard, smart work.

Absolutely brilliant. An entire topic delivered concisely, nothing omitted, in a clear, easy to understand format, with examples that help reinforce the concepts. Every question I ever had about chord notation has been answered. This is why I love your channel and your content.

It's worth mentioning that sometimes minor chords are not written as uppercase with "m", but as lowercase letters :) For example here in Poland we commonly write minor chords like that.

I always enjoy the topics you choose and how you summarize the intricacies of music in a clear and concise way. You are a master teacher in my book.

In “The Bob Ralson Touch” organ book, for Maj.7 chords, they use a 7 with a slash in it (as we write the number 7 in French cursive). For instance , Eb Maj.7 would read Eb7 (with a slash through the 7). I have more than a hundred music books and I have never seen that way of writing a Maj.7 chord anywhere else.

Mad respect for the sponsors. Really fits what your audience loves, and its in the middle always so I know I have even more to see.

Your videos are my absolute favourite kind of music theory videos. I feel like I’ve been able to understand so many things just from watching, and it actively makes a difference in my own music!

I plan on learning to compose, and I've always been bad at this stuff, so this is super helpful - thank you!

RIP to all the guitar players trying to play those upper chord extensions

THANK YOU ive been searching for a comprehensive explanation of chord symbols and this just answered all my questions. I LOVE THIS VIDEO

Great video, this is something that ive really worked on the last few months because i got tired of learning music on my guitar and having to look up what certain chords were. I never really remembered them other than their fingering but after really practicing them and thinking about it i can make any chord now in any inversion. It feels very liberating because i can play something in a few different ways depending on how you place the bass note in the chord and its helped me my melodies flow better. Its funny how those little "ah ha" moments really change how you look at something.

This was so useful, thank you! I've been playing keys at my church for a while, which meant switching from sheet music to chord charts. It's sometimes been a challenge to work out exactly what a particular chord symbol means, especially when the same chord can be written differently, and my chord theory was very poor to begin with. And now I'm switching to using number charts, which adds another layer of complexity lol.

when the music is sus

The way the information is explained makes it easy to follow and the quiz at the end to make sure the information is understood. Great guide keep up the good work!

Wonderful! Removes a lot of mystery from chord naming. Thanks David!

This is excellent. I've been teaching music for years and this is some of the most clearly presented information I've run across. Very clear and easy to follow.

David, you've done a Great Job here explaining Chord Symbols. Chords have always been my love, and my strong point in music. I sat for hours back in the early 70s studying Chord makeup (I'm not one for Solos) I would recommend to anyone wanting to write songs to really study Chords and to understand their sounds, they give so much Colour to songs. ThumbZup David 🎶👍👦👍🎶

I liked it without even watching because I already know that it's a great video. You definetly answering my burning questions with your videos, thank you man !

Brilliant. Again. In 16min you've summarised what its taken me 50 years to know (most of) starting as a self-taught guitarist and teaching myself very rudimentory keyboards (mainly to bash along with keyboard-led Beatles/McCartney songs) just based on curiosity about how multiple notes combine into interesting chords.

A few nits: "C11" is in practice a C9sus. Core of the sound being the 7sus, *without* the M3. "C13" is in practice a C7add13 or C9add13. Core of the sound being the b7, M3, and 13, usually voiced in that order. If you want both M3rd *and* 11th in a chord, use "add11". You almost only ever hear this on a basic triad.

At 3:20 you could also write the chord as Ebm6/C or Ebm/C, it is just an inversed minor-6 chord, which are more commonly used (and therefore this notation makes it easier to see the function of the chord in the harmony)

I can't believe i found this video i've been looking for a resource that compiles all chord symbols into something digestible and easy to comprehend. Thank you so much!!!

Extremely helpful! You always explain it so clearly and analytically! Keep on going!

Hi, Great topic!!! In most all cases that use chord symbols [jazz, pop, etc.], the degree mark ( C° ) is played as a four-note chord (a stack of minor thirds). This means C in the bass and C, Eb, Gb, and A. On the rare occasion when you want a true three-note diminished chord, you should mark it as C minor (-5). This gets the best results from the player. True diminished chords (triads) show up mainly in hymns and classical music and are a rarity in jazz and pop. Flat 11 chords don't really exist because a flat 11 is a major 3rd. If you need a major 3rd and minor 3rd, state it as a #9. If you desire the flat 13 on top of the voicing, the notes are C in the bass and Bb, D, F, and Ab. If you don't want the Ab on the top of the voicing, it is really an augmented 5th, so in this case, the chord is C11 +5. Because extended chords are almost always played as a four-note chord over a bass note, pay attention to how you want the chord to be voiced. In the case of C11, you need to think about the top note (F). Do you want it on top of the chord or somewhere in the middle. An 11 chord has the 7, 9, and 11 voiced as thirds and the 11 is on the top (C in the bass and a chord G, Bb, D, and F). If the same notes are needed, but the F note is NOT on the top, the best chord symbol would be C9 sus4. To avoid omit5 chords, try to state them with a slash bass note. For example, in my opinion, A7 sus4 (omit5) is better stated as D sus4/A. The chord that you describe at 13:10 is an [Emin & FMaj] / G.

I downloaded The Real Book a month ago and until now couldn't read 2% of the chords. This is a godsend!!! TY

Figuring fragments of this took me 10 years :) As always your content is top notch clarity and richness

Simply explained! I remember learning bits and pieces of this in college, but most of us didn't get the jazz studies we should have. THANK YOU!

14:00 that is clearly a C6add2add4

Omitting the 5 makes sense because it doesn’t really change the “feel” of the chord. But omitting the 3 for 11 chords is bizarre to me. The 3 is the essence of the chord. It gives it major or minor tonality. Unpopular opinion but C11 with no 3 is just Bb/C (or really Bbadd9/C)

Thanks for assembling the information in one video. Will park this in my watch list to refer to it every now and then.

Ive been looking for a complete nice explanation like this for years, thank you very very much, really amazing job, very understandable and clear, congratulations, keep it up!

at this point chord symbols might as well become maths.. anyways, thank you so much for making this video!! i self taught myself piano (after a bad experience with piano lessons) and i’ve always been confused with chord symbols. this video just explains everything not only clearly, but with concise, simple-to-understand words! hopefully i can memorize these soon..

2:46 I've seen this chord being written as Cm(maj7) too

Excellent video. I recently extensively researched chord symbols, trying to make a consistent notation I could use with my students. (I did come up with a system.) The video is fully accurate. It is as close to a complete overview of this subject as anything you will find.

Thank you very much! I'm practicing guitar on my own and visualizing chord on a sheet music makes it much easier! There are very little videos about all the chords on a guitar. That really helped to improve my understanding of chords!

I don't know if it's only me, but all of my teachers in college (in jazz) have always taught me that the 11th is never automatically included in a 13 chord when the chord has a major 3rd degree (in order to avoid a minor 9th interval between 3rd and 11th). So I was told that the 11th is only ever included in chords with a flat 3, or in sus chords, in which the 11th replaces the 3rd.

perfect video man, just about 5 years too late in my case 😋 i'm a guitarist and i've noticed long ago that while *Csus2* and *Csus4* are commonly noted as such, people would not use the term *Cadd2* and *Cadd4* but rather *Cadd9* and *Cadd11* although most often it's really the 2 and 4 they're adding to the chord and not these _upper extensions_ that you would expect with 9 and 11 ... i will be extra clear from now on. makes life so much easier, especially when working with others and sharing music and knowledge. I know guys who have called Csus2 chords C9, and that's where it gets criminal ...

i am just starting jazz band at my high school, and this video is extremely helpful for me. Thank you for this ! def will be watching multiple times

I don't have any experience with music or music theory but this video is so clear and well put together, that even I could understand most things!

So you showed us here a C7 (b11) at 5:37 but elevenths are usually used only as naturals (11) or sharpened (#11) given that a flattered eleventh would result in a major third of the chord. C7 (b11) = C7

Thanks a lot! I had some confusion when in academical harmony textbooks saw 6 chords as just 1st inversion of triads, that is, 6 chords with omitted 5. But I hope I got it all now.

Really good format for showing the breakdown of chords. Thank you so much.

Thank you David! I actually learned a couple of things with this video! 🎉❤

0:34 yo thanks for the shoutout bro

1:48 😂

Best summary I've ever encountered! It really helps! Very cool!

I just knew bits and pieces of naming the chords, but this cleared EVERYTHING. THANK YOU! New sub!

Thank you for the explanation! One minor mistake: at 6:14, the E11(b13) has a C flat in it, but it should be a C natural since the 13th degree of the E major scale is C sharp.

The final chord could also be thought of as an Emin/G played alongside an F/C. But I'm not sure if there's a way to notate playing two chords right next to each other like that.

So much appreciated - really well presented and easy to follow. Particularly enjoy the notation for each chord.

The clarifications in this video are very helpful, with the more complex chords they can get confusing. As a guitarist chords are more shapes than notes stuck together for beginners and this isn’t for beginners which is rare at least in the latter of the video. Great video 10/10

5:58 this just looks scary. I don't even have that many fingers!

Really excellent summary/review! Thanks. The origin of a “sus”pension, and the reason why “sus” alone means sus4, is as a _delayed resolution_ - suspended specifically in time. The didn’t originate as standalone block chords, but as delayed voice-leading. A *classic* example of a suspended fourth can be heard in the closing cadence of the first movement of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in Eb, BWV 998 (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-VEoOToX_PuE.html): You can hear the suspended fourth at time index 2;44, with its delayed resolution a second later. A C-dominant-7 (C E G Bb), in Common-Practice harmony, resolves to an F-Major (F A C). Specifically, the C7’s Bb lowers down to the F-Major’s A, and the E goes up to the F. The most common suspension is: E->F, G->F, C->C, but delaying the fall of the Bb to A, meaning that the fourth of the destination F-Major keyframe, the Bb, is still “suspended” - held over - from the previous C7 chord. You could also thinking of it as “suspended” vertically, meaning in pitch, in that the Bb is “dangling” above its final resting A pitch. (Granted, what it’s suspended *from* is not clear in that analogy, but...)

You have no idea how helpful this is. Thank you, more videos like this please

You're so underrated! thanks so much for all these theory lessons, even the sponsors are great!

from 11:04 to the end in the audio track you’ve played Cm7add11, “the weird chord”, Cadd2, Cadd#4 x2 instead of Cadd2, Cadd#4, Cm7add11, “the weird chord” x2

I would add Q, for representing quartal voicings, and the fraction symbol to represent a chord played over another chord.

I think the last one is best described as either a polychord: F major on top of E minor, or even better as a set of tone clusters or dyads since F major over E minor could imply the F major sits another octave higher… it also doesn’t convey the inversion as I’ve put it, though you could use polychords with slash chords in them. There’s no system of naming for dyads other than their interval names which can become confusing in the context of chord naming, so we can simply put them in their triadic convention: B(♭2)(no3)(no5) on top of E(♭2)(no3)(no5) on top of G(add2)(no3)(no5).

Just brilliant ! That last note selection made me smile. You are the daddy. 😊❤️

6th graders at 9:01: 😳🤣💀😱🤯💩🤡

That last chord sounds like a weirdly voiced F chord to me, the subdominant flavor is too strong for me to call it a G chord. If the G was an octave lower it would probably sound more like a dominant chord (a F/G specifically).

Thank you very much for this. I will watch it bit by bit but I know it's gonna be so useful

Fantastic video! You clarified many of my recent doubts!

Amazing video! I have a question though. The chord at 14:40 that you labelled G13(omit5), could you also describe is at F over Em (idk how you’d write that). I’ve heard people talking about stacking 2 different chords on top of each other and calling it smth like that I think 🤔

1:37 SUS AMOGUS

What a wonderful video explaining this topic, learned so much. Love your videos David, thanks for this!

Is it me, or are the sounds of the chords not matched up with the actual chords near the end? At 11:40 for example, it sounds like the C(add2) chord, instead of the Cm7(add11) chord, and a couple of them before that also don't sound how it should. The actual Cadd2 chord, sounds completely different to how it should sound.

2:18 wait? I just wondered smth.. since a major chord can also be written as Xmaj, then Xmaj7 can be confused by X7 which has another chord meaning… The fact that there is multiple ways to write a same chord is kinda disturbing 😅. But great video anyways!

I don't get why this is the only example explaining the symbols I've found so far. These are so fundamental to understanding other chord progressions yet nobody talks about them. Really helpful video.

This is absolute gold. Thanks so much!

It's a lot too much for me, but still a very informative video

1:10 ok but what is a diminished chord? Is it a flat 5th?

Great content as always. Glad you made a video explaining all of this.

This video is so very interesting! Thank you for this! I absolutely love learning about music theory

Average unfunny joke: 1:36

9:25 - that alt chord should be called halt chord. As in "stop making jazz music" 😛

You’re such a life saver! I’m already a folk musician myself but find western music note system super confusing and intimidating. Thanks for sparking my interest in standardized five staff music once again 😃

Such a priceless video on such a seemingly confusing and overwhelming topic! As someone just dipping their toes into music theory, this is amazingly helpful! Thank you and keep it up! ☺️

When the chord is sus