This is a breakdown of all chords possible when building in traditional harmony in 3rds. I have arranged it so that you can trace back the relationships of the most complex chords to their base triad. Because of its size and format considerations, I will put the final layer of 3rd harmony (13th) on a separate page. Some of these chords (the Diminished Maj 9ths for instance) are not acknowledged by all of western theory. But they are colors possible by applying a strict reading of developing harmony in 3rd’s and so I’ve included them. Not everyone will recognize them if you write them out this way, so a simpler explanation may be necessary to communicate these chords on a more basic level. Try playing through these chords to hear how the timbre and tension changes as certain notes are altered. Even though these represent all possibilities in building harmony in 3rd’s, many more colors and variants are opened when placing the notes of a chord in a different order (Creating inversions and different voicings). Experiment freely with these.
Chord Heredity Tree:
Triads 7th 9th 11th
C Major C Dominant 7th (C E G Bb) C 9 (C E G Bb D) C11 (C E G Bb D F)
(CEG) C b9 (C E G Bb Db) C #11 (C E G Bb D F#)
C #9 (C E G Bb D#) C b9 11 (C E G Bb Db F) C b9 #11 (C E G Bb Db F#)
C #9 11 (C E G Bb D# F)
C #9 #11 (C E G Bb D# F#)
C Major 7th (C E G B) C Maj 9 (C E G B D) C Maj11 (C E G B D F)
C Maj b9 (C E G B Db) C Maj #11 (C E G B D F#)
C Maj #9 (C E G B D#) C Maj b9 11 (C E G B Db F)
C Maj b9 #11 (C E G B Db F#) C Maj #9 11 (C E G B D# F)
C Maj #9 #11 (C E G B D# F#)
C Minor C Minor 7th (C Eb G Bb) C Min 9 (C Eb G Bb D) C Min11 (C Eb G Bb D F)
(C Eb G) C Min b9 (C Eb G Bb Db) C Min #11 (C Eb G Bb D F#)
C Min b9 11 (C Eb G Bb Db F)
C Min b9 #11 (C Eb G Bb Db F#)
C Minor Maj 7th (C Eb G B) C Min Maj 9 (C Eb G B D) C Min Maj 11 (C Eb G B D F)
C Min Maj b9 (C Eb G B Db) C Min Maj #11 (C Eb G B D F#)
C Min Maj b9 11 (C Eb G B Db F)
C Min Maj b9 #11(C Eb G B Db F#)
Augmented C Aug 7 (C E G# Bb) C Aug 9 (C E G# Bb D) C Aug 11 (C E G# Bb D F)
(C E G#) C Aug b9 (C E G# Bb Db) C Aug #11 (C E G# Bb D F#)
C Aug #9 (C E G# Bb D#) C Aug b9 11 (C E G# Bb Db F)
C Aug b9 #11 (C E G# Bb Db F#)
C Aug #9 11 (C E G# Bb D# F)
C Aug #9 #11 (C E G# Bb D# F#)
C Aug Maj 7 (C E G# B) C Aug Maj 9 (C E G# B D) C Aug Maj 11 (C E G# B D F)
C Aug Maj b9 (C E G# B Db) C Aug Maj #11 (C E G# B D F#)
C Aug Maj #9 (C E G# B D#) C Aug Maj b9 11 (C E G# B Db F)
C Aug Maj b9 #11 (C E G# B Db F#)
C Aug Maj #9 11 (C E G# B D# F)
C Aug Maj #9 #11 (C E G# B D# F#)
Diminished C Half Diminished 7 (C Eb G Bb) C H-Dim 9 (C Eb Gb Bb D) C H-Dim 11 (C Eb Gb Bb D F)
(C Eb Gb) C H-Dim b9 (C Eb Gb Bb Db) C H-Dim b9 11 (C Eb Gb Bb Db F)
C Fully Dim 7 (C Eb Gb Bbb) C Dim 9 (C Eb Gb Bbb D) C Dim 11 (C Eb Gb Bbb D F)
C Dim b9 (C Eb Gb Bbb Db) C Dim b9 11 (C Eb Gb Bbb Db F)
C Dim Maj 7 (C Eb Gb B) C Dim Maj 9 (C Eb Gb B D) C Dim Maj 11 (C Eb Gb B D F)
C Dim Maj b9 (C Eb Gb B Db) C Dim Maj b9 11 (C Eb Gb B D F#)