Complex Chords Demystified - December 2016 - Matt Smith 
 

For many years I have taught students heading into Jazz Ensembles how to read Chord charts 

and the “shorthand” used in the Real Book and other jazz notation. 

For example, a small triangle signifies Major, a minus sign signifies minor, a “degree” signifies 

diminished and a plus sign signifies augmented. 

For example: C-7 = C minor7, C+7 = C augmented7, etc. 

Chords tell a student exactly what they contain. It's important to note that every…

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