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Chord List
Commonly used chords are displayed here in bold type. These chords are displayed in a list in the Chord Builder dialog, accessible from the Window menu or by right-clicking on the Chord Sheet.

[Tip: See the list of shortcut chords at the bottom.]

Major Chords

C, Cmaj, C6, Cmaj7, Cmaj9, Cmaj13, C69, Cmaj7#5, C5b, Caug, C+, Cmaj9#11, Cmaj13#11

Minor Chords

Cm, Cm6, Cm7, Cm9, Cm11, Cm13, Cmaug, Cm#5, CmMaj7

Half diminished

Cm7b5,

Diminished

Cdim, Cdim5, Cdim7 (Note: see setting in Display Options for Cdim treatment.)

Dominant 7th Chords

C7, 7+, C9+, C13+, C13, C7b13, C7#11, C13#11, C7#11b13, C9,

C9b13, C9#11, C13#11, C9#11b13, C7b9, C13b9, C7b9b13, C7b9#11,

C13b9#11, C7b9#11b13, C7#9, C13#9, C7#9b13, C9#11, C13#9#11, C7#9#11b13

C7b5, C13b5, C7b5b13, C9b5, C9b5b13, C7b5b9, C13b5b9, C7b5b9b13,

C7b5#9, C13b5#9, C7b5#9b13, C7#5, C13#5, C7#5#11, C13#5#11, C9#5,

C9#5#11, C7#5b9, C13#5b9, C7#5b9#11, C13#5b9#11, C7#5#9, C13#5#9#11,

C7#5#9#11, C13#5#9#11

Suspended 4 Chords

Csus, C7sus, C9sus,

C13sus, C7susb13, C7sus#11, C13sus#11, C7sus#11b13, C9susb13, C9sus#11, C13sus#11, C9sus#11b13, C7susb9, C13susb9, C7susb9b13, C7susb9#11,

C13susb9#11, C7susb9#11b13, C7sus#9, C13sus#9, C7sus#9b13, C9sus#11, C13sus#9#11, C7sus#9#11b13,

C7susb5, C13susb5, C7susb5b13, C9susb5, C9susb5b13, C7susb5b9,

C13susb5b9, C7susb5b9b13, C7susb5#9, C13susb5#9, C7susb5#9b13,

C7sus#5, C13sus#5, C7sus#5#11, C13sus#5#11, C9sus#5, C9sus#5#11, C7sus#5b9, C13sus#5b9, C7sus#5b9#11, C13sus#5b9#11, C7sus#5#9, C13sus#5#9#11, C7sus#5#9#11, C13sus#5#9#11,

Add 2 Chords

Cadd2, Cmadd2

Notes:

- It is not necessary to type upper or lower case. For example type c6 to get the C6 chord. You should never have to use the Shift key, as Band-in-a-Box will sort this out for you.

- Any chord may be entered with an alternate root ("Slash Chord") e.g.: C7/E = C7 with E bass.

- Separate chords with commas to enter 2 chords in a 2 beat cell, e.g., Dm, G7.

- Use the letter B for a flat; e.g., Bb7

- Use # or 3 for a sharp; e.g., F#7. The pound sign (#) is the uppercase symbol of 3, so you can actually type f37 to get F#7. Band-in-a-Box will sort out the case, saving you the effort of using Shift+3 to type the # symbol.

- Use "=" for "+"; the program automatically converts "=" to "+" so that chords like C+7 can be entered without using the shift key.

- You can type C-7 for Cm7 (i.e. use the minus sign) or C7-9 for C7b9.

Tricky Chords:

C5b This is "C flat 5." It is spelled this way to avoid confusion.

C2, C5, C4, C69, C7alt, Cm7#5

Shortcut Chords:

If you enter a lot of songs, you'll appreciate these shortcut keys.

J = Maj7

H = m7b5 (H stands for Half diminished)

D = dim

S = Sus

Example: To type CMaj7, just type cj (it will be entered as CMaj7).

Add your own chord shortcuts.

Have you found a chord that Band-in-a-Box doesn't recognize? If so, add it to the chord shortcuts file, and Band-in-a-Box will allow you to type in that chord in the future. This also lets you define chord "shortcuts," one-letter abbreviations for longer chord names ("J" for "Maj7" etc.). If you find a chord that Band-in-a-Box won't accept like Csus2, when it expects C2 instead you can enter this on a single line (without the quotes) "Csus2@C2." Then Band-in-a-Box will enter the chord C2 if you type in Csus 2.

The text file C:\bb\Data\Shortcut.txt allows you to add new chord shortcuts. Note that this file doesn't ship with Band-in-a-Box (or it would overwrite your file!). The file C:\bbData\pgshortc.txt for shortcuts is supplied by PG Music. You can add your own shortcuts in a text file you make yourself and name C:\bb\Data\shortcut.txt.