Standard format for jazz chord symbols

Question

In jazz, certain chords can be written in many formats. Like for minor 7ths you can do:

• Cm7
• Cmi7
• Cmin7
• C-7

And for major 7ths:

• CM7
• Cma7
• Cmaj7
• CΔ7

Have publishers of big band music settled on a standard practice?

-- EDIT --

OK, it seems the answer to that question is no, there is not consensus. So how about if we consider just one of the major publishers? Do they have an internal standard?

Answer 1

Although the symbols themselves vary quite a bit, and there is no accepted standard¹, there is an overall structure to chord symbols that is consistent across publishers.

1. Root | 2. triad type | 3. seventh type | 4. alterations/extensions

1. The chord root is straightforward: A, Gb, C#, etc.
2. The triad types come in a variety of forms, but they are always the next part of the chord symbol.
   Major: no symbol
   Minor: m, mi, min, -
   Diminished: o, ø², dim
   Augmented: aug, +
3. The type of seventh comes in two basic forms:
   Major seventh: M7, Maj7, Δ7
   Minor sevenths: 7
   • The basic 7 is also used for diminished sevenths, but this is clear from context when needed.
   • In cases where "natural" extensions are added to a seventh chord, the "7" is omitted and instead, the topmost extension is given: C9, G11.
4. Alterations/Extensions are fairly standard, using # and b when needed. Sometimes + and - are used instead. Multiple alterations/extensions are sometimes run together and sometimes separated by / or ,.

Examples

Some publishers will superscript the seventh and extensions/additions. The triad type is sometimes also given in superscript.

Chord symbol	root	triad	seventh	extensions
C	C	= major	none	none
C#m	C#	- = minor	none	none
D7	D	= major	7 = minor	none
Eb-7	Eb	- = minor	7 = minor	none
EMaj7	E	= major	Maj7 = major	none
FminΔ7	F	min = minor	Δ7 = major	none
F#+7	F#	+ = aug	7 = minor	none
GM7#11	G	= major	M7 = major	#11 (extension)
G#-7b5	G#	- = minor	7 = minor	b5 (alteration)
Aø7	A	ø = dim	7 = minor	none
Bb6/9	Bb	= major	= none	added 6 and 9
Bsus4	B	= major	= none	alter the ^3 with ^4
C9	C	= major	9 = minor	include 9
CMaj9	C	= major	Maj9 = major	include 9
C-9b13	C	- = minor	9 = minor	include 9 and b13
C11	C	= major	11 = min7	include 9 and 11
Cadd9	C	= major	= none	include 9
Ebbo	Ebb (D)	o = dim	= none	none
Fxo7	Fx (G)	o = dim	7 = dim	none

---

¹ _{It's worth mentioning that Elaine Gould does not address chord symbols in her "definitive" guide to engraving, Behind Bars, frequently cited as an authority for questions on this site.}

² _{The half-diminished symbol is a bit of an exception. It does indicate a diminished triad, but it also implies a minor seventh. The seventh is always explicitly specified, nevertheless.}

Answer 2

When I placed a bounty on this question, I was hoping to get an answer specifically to O.P. Sam Kauffman's edit... "how about if we consider just one of the major publishers? Do they have an internal standard?".

I'd like to see how the symbols are used together in practice, rather than just randomly picking from all the possible representations for each type of chord. I can't find any real examples of such standards, so I did a little survey of the books on my shelf (most of which are NOT jazz), and added a column for MuseScore, which is the only notation editing program I could find that claims to have any kind of 'standard' symbols for jazz.

I included the chords that seem to have the most variation in representation. I ignored extensions, which generally follow the same format as the 7 (though often in parentheses).

From this mini-survey, and a few quick Google searches, it seems that Jazz scores tend more toward using the symbols (-, △, ø, and ⚬), while other styles tend toward the more textual (m, maj7, m7♭5, and dim).

While I found varying styles from the same publisher (even sometimes within the same book), I did see some consistency in the Hal Leonard books, where at least the symbols for the most common chords seemed to adhere to an internal standard.

Answer 3

No. Simple answer. Mostly I come across Cm7 or C-7 and Cmaj7, CM7 and C(triangle)7, but each seems to have his own. You get used to it, and just get on with it ! The annoying one is hand-written stuff, where the minus sign is often illegible.

Other more complex chords suffer the same fate, with + or aug, o or dim, et al.

Drum music is also, to an extent, 'unregulated', where the dots go isn't exactly standard, and varies from writer to writer. A pain, as one has to be intuitive to a degree.