| Most professional musicians play from a book | | | | of modern music to notate chord progressions |
| called a "Fake Book". I bought my first fake book | | | | and changes. This type of notation differs from |
| containing only about 200 songs when I was a | | | | that of classical music in that chord symbols don't |
| teenager -- they were illegal then, but most | | | | show the function of a chord the way the Roman |
| musicians owned them -- for $50. That would be | | | | numeral notation does. Chord symbols, for |
| equal to $500. or more now. But fortunately, they | | | | modern music with lots of changes, are much |
| have since become legal, so you can buy a real | | | | easier to read. They function as a sort of |
| good one with 1000 songs now for $50. or less. A | | | | shorthand for change-heavy music and are |
| fake book contains just the melody (tune) and | | | | written with four chord parts in mind: the root, |
| the chord symbols of a song, so you have to | | | | the quality, the extension, and the alterationsThe |
| know chords to use one. But when you do, your | | | | first part in chord symbols, the root, tells the |
| playing comes alive -- you're only reading a few | | | | musician which note is the root of the chord. In an |
| notes, but playing lots of notes.Most people learn | | | | E6 chord, for instance, the E serves as the root. |
| to play the piano by playing just the written | | | | In a C7 chord, C is the root. Easy enough.Quality, |
| music. Playing by written music is exactly what | | | | the second part in chord symbols, denotes |
| the phrase says it is -- playing the exact notation | | | | whether the chord is major, minor, diminished, or |
| on a piece of sheet music. But playing by chord | | | | augmented. In a Cmaj7, the maj tells us that the |
| symbol is very different. Instead of following the | | | | C chord is major. The abbreviations for this area |
| harmony note by note, you follow the chord | | | | in chord symbols are maj, min, dim, and aug |
| symbols (i.e. C7 or F) written above the | | | | respectively. So Cm means the chord is a C |
| harmonies, filling in the gaps with...well, whatever | | | | minor chord. Caug means that the chord is a C |
| you want as long as it sticks to those chords. Of | | | | augmented chord.The extension in chord symbols, |
| course, you'll still read the melody (it is, after all, | | | | written after the quality, shows the musician if |
| often what makes the song recognizable) but | | | | the chord differs from a triad, such as an 11th or |
| even that is completely open to interpretation. | | | | 6th or 9th or 7th or 13th. So a C9 would mean |
| Playing by chord symbol allows you a freedom | | | | that the C chord includes the 9th note above C, |
| that playing by written music simply doesn't. The | | | | which is D. A C6 chord would mean that the C |
| freedom to create. The freedom to invent. The | | | | chord includes the 6th scale note above C, which |
| freedom to arrange chord patterns in the way | | | | is A. This part of chord symbols is not always |
| you want.Does that mean playing by written | | | | shown; if there is no indication of an extension, |
| music is less important than playing by chord | | | | the musician is to assume that the chord is a |
| symbol? No. The ability to play by written music is | | | | triad.The last part in chord symbols, the alteration, |
| an extremely valuable skill, one that even some | | | | is usually but not always expressed. Think of this |
| of the most famous musicians don't possess. And | | | | part as the "notes" section in chord symbols; it |
| while you don't necessarily need to know the skill | | | | gives the musician any specific (and sometimes |
| backwards and forwards to create great | | | | irregular) instructions for playing the chord and is |
| arrangements, it's a great help.Chord symbols -- | | | | always written in parentheses after the extension |
| sometimes referred to as "chord tabs" (for | | | | (or the quality, if no extension exists). For |
| example, Cmaj7 or G6 or Fm7) are a type of | | | | instance, (no fifth) would tell the musician that the |
| notation used frequently in jazz and other areas | | | | chord is to be played with the fifth tone left out. |