Posted 20 February 2007.
To help you prepare for theory diagnostic exam I, here are two tables that give chord labels in major and minor keys.
Table 1 shows chords in C major. The first row shows (1) all root position triads: (2) sample inversions of triads; (3) all root position seventh chords. The second row shows (1) sample inversions of diatonic seventh chords; (2) secondary dominant or diminished seventh chords for diatonic scale degrees (ex: read the first chord as "V7 of IV". The third row shows (1) the fully diminished seventh chords for the diatonic degrees; (2) the most common "borrowed chords" (that is, chords "borrowed" from the parallel minor, or chords arising from mixture). The fourth row shows (1) additional chromatic chords (Neapolitan Sixth, Augmented Sixth, and augmented tonic); (2) region notation for a short progression in D minor (ii) within C major.
Table 2 shows chords in C minor. The first row shows (1) all root position triads: (2) sample inversions of triads; (3) some root position seventh chords. The second row shows (1) sample inversions of diatonic seventh chords; (2) secondary dominant seventh chords for diatonic scale degrees (ex: read the first chord as "V7 of iv". The third row shows (1) the fully diminished seventh chords for the diatonic degrees. The fourth row shows (1) the most common "borrowed chords" (that is, chords "borrowed" from the parallel major, or chords arising from mixture); (2) additional chromatic chords (augmented mediant, Neapolitan Sixth, Augmented Sixth).
Please note that we use upper and lower case to distinguish between major and minor triads; lower case with a small circle indicates a diminished triad. For seventh chords, lower case with a small circle indicates a fully diminished seventh chord; lower case and a small circle with a slash through it indicates a half-diminished seventh chord.