ost professional musicians play from a book called a "Fake Book". I bought my

first fake book containing only about 200 songs when I was a teenager -- they

were illegal then Manuel

Locatelli Jersey , but most musicians owned them -- for $50. That

would be equal to $500. or more now. But fortunately, they have since become

legal, so you can buy a real good one with 1000 songs now for $50. or less. A

fake book contains just the melody (tune) and the chord symbols of a song, so

you have to know chords to use one. But when you do, your playing comes alive --

you're only reading a few notes, but playing lots of notes.

Most people

learn to play the piano by playing just the written music. Playing by written

music is exactly what the phrase says it is -- playing the exact notation on a

piece of sheet music. But playing by chord symbol is very different. Instead of

following the harmony note by note, you follow the chord symbols (i.e. C7 or F)

written above the harmonies Luiz Adriano

Jersey , filling in the gaps with...well, whatever you want as long

as it sticks to those chords. Of course, you'll still read the melody (it is,

after all, often what makes the song recognizable) but even that is completely

open to interpretation. Playing by chord symbol allows you a freedom that

playing by written music simply doesn't. The freedom to create. The freedom to

invent. The freedom to arrange chord patterns in the way you want.

Does

that mean playing by written music is less important than playing by chord

symbol? No. The ability to play by written music is an extremely valuable skill,

one that even some of the most famous musicians don't possess. And while you

don't necessarily need to know the skill backwards and forwards to create great

arrangements, it's a great help.

Chord symbols -- sometimes referred to

as "chord tabs" (for example Luca

Antonelli Jersey , Cmaj7 or G6 or Fm7) are a type of notation used

frequently in jazz and other areas of modern music to notate chord progressions

and changes. This type of notation differs from that of classical music in that

chord symbols don't show the function of a chord the way the Roman numeral

notation does. Chord symbols, for modern music with lots of changes, are much

easier to read. They function as a sort of shorthand for change-heavy music and

are written with four chord parts in mind: the root, the quality, the extension,

and the alterations.

The first part in chord symbols, the root Kevin-Prince

Boateng Jersey , tells the musician which note is the root of the

chord. In an E6 chord, for instance, the E serves as the root. In a C7 chord, C

is the root. Easy enough.

Quality, the second part in chord symbols,

denotes whether the chord is major, minor Keisuke

Honda Jersey , diminished, or augmented. In a Cmaj7, the maj tells

us that the C chord is major. The abbreviations for this area in chord symbols

are maj, min, dim, and aug respectively. So Cm means the chord is a C minor

chord. Caug means that the chord is a C augmented chord.

The extension in

chord symbols, written after the quality Juraj Kucka

Jersey , shows the musician if the chord differs from a triad, such

as an 11th or 6th or 9th or 7th or 13th. So a C9 would mean that the C chord

includes the 9th note above C, which is D. A C6 chord would mean that the C

chord includes the 6th scale note above C, which is A. This part of chord

symbols is not always shown; if there is no indication of an extension, the

musician is to assume that the chord is a triad.

The last part in chord

symbols, the alteration, is usually but not always expressed. Think of this part

as the "notes" section in chord symbols; it gives the musician any specific (and

sometimes irregular) instructions for playing the chord and is always written in

parentheses after the extension (or the quality Jose Mauri

Jersey , if no extension exists). For instance, (no fifth) would

tell the musician that the chord is to be played with the fifth tone left out.

Sus - short for "suspension", would mean to play the 4th scale note instead of

the 3rd. A minus sign would mean to lower (flat) a chord tone, such as C-9 which

would mean to flat the 9th of the chord. Conversely, a plus sign would mean to

raise (sharp) a particular chord tone.

Reading music using chord symbols

allows a person to use written music as a map, rather than a note-for-note

approach -- being tied to the written sheet music. By just reading the melody

note and the chord symbols, musicians can improvise to their hearts content and

create their own sounds on the keyboard. So you can use sheet music as a map

instead of a ball & chain that ties you down.

Did you know that many

pianists wouldn't have a clue what to do if a gust of wind blew their sheet

music off the music rack? I've actually seen it happen Jeremy Menez

Jersey , and it is very embarrassing to the pianist. And it's so

un-necessary! And there's a true story about a famous concert pianist who could

play most any piece of written music, but when asked to play "Happy Birthday" at

a party, she couldn't do it because she didn't have any written music! Almost

unbelievable, but true.

Once you learn this skill you'll be reading only

a few notes per measure, but playing handfuls of notes -- arpeggios, chords,

runs Ignazio

Abate Jersey , riffs, fills, etc. You can then "do your own thing"

on the piano, instead of playing a song the same way everyone else is playing

it.

Author's Resource Box

Duane Shinn is the
author of the popular free 101-week online e-mail newsletter titled Amazing Secrets Of Exciting Piano Chords & Sizzling Chord Progressions with over 71,400 current subscribers.

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