The most beautiful chord

Why these chords sound beautiful

A plain major chord is three notes, each a third apart. Add a note one step from one of them, the B a half step under C in Cmaj7 or the D a whole step above C in Cadd9, and the two rub gently. The rub is too soft to sound like a clash and too strong to ignore: it makes the chord shimmer. Played as plain chords the same songs sound bright; with the added notes they sound dreamy.

The major seventh

Cmaj7 and Fmaj7 are the easiest beautiful chords on guitar: Cmaj7 is a C chord with one finger lifted, so the open B string rings. Going back and forth between two major sevenths, as in the first progression above, is the sound of a great deal of soft rock, bossa nova and soul.

The ninths

Cmaj9 adds a ninth on top of the major seventh; the piano lesson site Piano With Jonny calls the major ninth the most beautiful piano chord. Cadd9 keeps the ninth and leaves out the seventh, so it stays clearly major; with the open G and D strings ringing it is one of the most used shapes in acoustic pop. The minor ninth, such as Em9, does the same for a minor chord: sad, but softened.

Open strings

On guitar much of the beauty comes from open strings ringing against fretted ones a step away. Dsus2 puts an open E beside a D, and Fmaj7 lets the open high E ring over F. Those close notes on different strings are hard to play on a piano, which is one reason these shapes sound so much like a guitar.

Famous beautiful chords

Steely Dan built their sound on the mu chord, an added second right next to the third. The So What chord from Miles Davis’s “So What” stacks fourths for an open, floating sound, and Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Lenny chord is a major thirteenth. For the sad side of beauty, see the saddest chord.

Questions

What is the most beautiful chord?

No chord is the most beautiful for everyone, but the major seventh and the major ninth are named most often, followed by the added ninth, sus2 and the minor ninth. Each adds a note a step from another, which softens the chord.

What is the most beautiful chord on guitar?

Many guitarists name Cmaj7 (x32000) or Fmaj7 (xx3210): easy shapes in which an open string rings a step away from a fretted note. Cadd9 (x32033) and Dsus2 (xx0230) work the same way.

What makes a chord sound beautiful?

A gentle rub between two notes a step apart, inside an otherwise calm chord: the B against C in Cmaj7, the D against C and E in Cadd9. Too much rub sounds tense; a little makes the chord shimmer.

What are pretty chords for beginners?

Cmaj7, Fmaj7, Cadd9, Dsus2 and Em9 all use open strings and few fingers. Swap them in for C, F, D and Em in songs you already play.

Sources

• Major seventh chord (Wikipedia)
• Major 9th chords: the most beautiful piano chord (Piano With Jonny)
• Added tone chord (Wikipedia)

More chord stories: The forbidden chord, The saddest chord, The four chord song, The Picardy third, The happiest chord, The Mario cadence, and famous chords such as the Tristan chord and the Hendrix chord. Also: the guitar chord library, the chord finder and the chords in every key.