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Monday, January 12, 2026

A unified, intuitive chord notation system

This is a syncretic attempt at combining multiple existing notational conventions into a single, nice standard that can be used more flexibly than each of the existing ones. This imposes a certain degree of strictness on what symbols can now be used how.

Summary: Use Nashville with jazz/advanced symbols for chords, Romans for implied tonics.

Tonic: Roman I (Absolute Key).

Implied tonic: Roman Numeral, Mode (Absolute Mode). Legend:

  • I: Ionian
  • i6: Dorian
  • i2: Phryigian
  • I5: Lydian
  • I7: Mixolydian
  • i: Aeolian
  • i25: Locrian

Chord: Nashville notation (Absolute Chord). Legend:

  • -, m: minor
  • 7: dominant 7th
  • Δ, M7, maj7: major 7th
  • °, dim: diminished
  • ∅: half-diminished (= half-dim. 7th)
  • +: augmented
Derived chords:
  • °7: diminished 7th
  • °Δ7: diminished major 7th
  • +Δ: augmented major 7th
  • etc.

In action

'Stella by Starlight' in Bb

[ii (D m)] 2 m7b5 (E m7b5)  |  5 7 (A 7)  |  [I (Bb)] ii m7 (C m7)  |  5 7 (F 7)  |

contd.