Student’s question:
Is there a list of all of the different chord symbols used in IFR? I want to make sure I understand all of the definitions that might appear in your teaching.
David’s response:
In IFR we use just five different symbols to describe the five basic chord types. I’ll illustrate them all below using note 1 as the chord root:
- 1 = major
- 1D = dominant
- 1- = minor
- 1-b5 = minor b5, sometimes called “half diminished”
- 1dim = diminished
That’s it. We don’t make any distinction between triads vs. four-note chords, ninth chords, etc. because these esthetic choices don’t alter the chord’s harmonic function. Because our only goal is to reveal the harmonic function of each chord, we have everything we need with just the five basic chord types above.
It’s also worth noting that only the first four chord types from the list above are native to the major scale. The fifth chord type (diminished) is an artificial or derivative concept. But it’s a very important chord in many styles of music (particularly jazz and bossa nova), and you’ll see this chord in some of our analyses.
What’s not captured by these symbols?
These chord symbols are a streamlined shorthand for harmonic analysis. They do not contain any indications about how a given chord is to be expressed, and they do not specify the complete harmonic environments of each chord. Let’s examine each one of these limitations in detail:
1) No indication about how the chord is to be expressed. The IFR chord symbols do not specify whether a given chord is to be expressed as just a triad, as a full seventh chord, or including higher extensions like the 9th or the 13th. This is intentional. The purpose of the IFR chord symbols is not to tell you what to play. The purpose is to reveal the harmonic function of each chord in the simplest and fastest way, to facilitate your quick understanding of the overall harmonic progression.
2) Incomplete information about the harmonic environment. This limitation is more problematic. The IFR chord symbols specify only the four chord tones of each chord. They do not tell us anything about the remaining notes of the scale. For all of our learning in Pure Harmony and for much of our learning in Mixed Harmony, this limitation doesn’t cause any problems. But when you get to more advanced compositions like some of the tunes we study in the IFR Standards Workouts, there can be situations in which it would be nice if the chord symbol could tell us the full seven note scale.
The reason why we accept both of these limitations is because IFR is not a notation system. It’s a learning system. Our mission is to give you a deep understanding of harmony and the ability to connect your ear to your instrument. For this work, it’s important to have a way of talking about notes and chords that is simple, clear and easy to manage. It’s okay if your own need for documentation outgrows the IFR chord symbols after a few years, because by then you’ll have the personal resources to make your own decisions about how you want to notate chords and scales. We just want to give you the very best foundation we can in understanding how music works and connecting it with your ear. And the five chord symbols shown above give us a perfect vocabulary for doing that.
