Reading a Chord Chart- the mystery unveiled, so you can make lots of cash money as a side musician.

Hi and welcome to Practical Theory Lesson # 9. This lesson is a culmination of the previous eight, with the express purpose of enabling you to read and write chord charts. For a songwriter this is an extremely useful skill. Once you can do this, you will be able to streamline rehearsals and let musicians know exactly what chords you want them to play (rather than leaving it up to interpretations that perhaps were not what you wanted.) You will also be in a position of being able to read charts of songs that you would like to learn, and of people who may want to hire you - heck, why not hire yourself out as a side musician, or, learn that Beatles song you've been wanting to. Chord charts are far more descriptive than tablature, and you will acquire a real understanding of a song, once you can read a chart for it.

Chord Symbols
Chord symbols are really very logical. If you read the symbols in the following manner, you cannot misread them.

1. Start with the letter name of the chord, this will be the root.
Ex:
Bb = Bb major triad or Bb, D, F

2. Then list the quality of the third. If it is Major, there will be no marking, if it is minor, it will say min, minor, or -.
Ex:
Bb = Bb major triad or Bb, D, F
Bb min, Bb minor, or Bb- = Bb minor triad or Bb, Db, F

3. If the chord is a Suspended Chord (either a 2nd or 4th substituting for the third) The Chord will say sus2 or sus4. If there is a 7th, this will be notated after the 7th**.
Ex:
Bb sus2 = Bb a 2nd and a perfect 5th, or Bb, C, F
Bb sus4 = Bb a 4th and a perfect 5th, or Bb, Eb, F
**Bb7 sus4 = Bb Eb F Ab

4. The 5th is assumed to be a perfect fifth, Therefore, you don’t need to make any notation about the 5th UNLESS it is a diminished chord, which uses a flatted fifth (b5), Or an augmented chord (+5).
Ex:
Bb = Bb major triad or Bb, D, F
Bb min, Bb minor, or Bb- = Bb minor triad or Bb, Db, F
Bb dim, or Bbmin.b5 = Bb diminished triad, or Bb, Db, E (Fb)
Bb+, Bb Aug, or Bb+5 = Bb major triad, with a raised 5th,
or Bb, B, Gb

5. If the Chord Contains a 6th, it will be notated with a 6.
Ex:
Bb 6 = Bb major triad with a 6th on top or Bb, D, F G
Bb min 6, Bb minor 6, or Bb - 6 = Bb minor triad or Bb,
Db, F G

6. If the chord contains a 7th, it will be notated by a 7, for the flatted (dominant) 7th, or by maj7, or for a major 7th.
Ex:
Bb7 = Bb major triad with a flatted 7th or Bb, D, F Ab
Bb min 7, Bb minor 7, or Bb-7 = Bb minor triad with a
flatted 7th or Bb, Db, F Ab
Bb maj7, Bb = Bb major triad with a major 7th or Bb,
D, F A
Bb min maj7, Bb minor, or Bb- = Bb minor triad with a
major 7th or Bb, Db, F A

7. If the chord has a 9th, b9, 11th, sharp 11th, 13th or b13th in it, it will be notated as, a 9, b9, 11, +11, 13 or b13. A chord with these extensions is assumed to have a flatted (dominant) 7th unless otherwise notated.
Ex:
Bb 9 = Bb major triad with a major 9th or Bb, D, F Ab C
Bb -9 = Bb minor triad with a flatted 9th or Bb, Db, F Ab C
Bb 9 = Bb major triad with a major 7th and a major 9th or Bb, D, F A C
Bb- 9 = Bb minor triad with a major 7th and a major 9th or Bb, Db, F A C

Bb11 = Bb major triad with a flatted 7th, and a major 11th, or Bb D F Ab Eb
Bb -11 = Bb minor triad with a flatted 7th, and a major 11th, or Bb Db F Ab Eb
Bb11 = Bb major triad with a major 7th, and a major 11th, or Bb D F A Eb
Bb - 11 = Bb minor triad with a major 7th, and a major 11th, or Bb Db F A Eb

Bb +11 = Bb major triad with a flatted 7th, and an augmented 11th, or Bb D F Ab E
Bb - +11 = Bb minor triad with a flatted 7th, and a an augmented 11th or Bb Db F Ab E
Bb +11 = Bb major triad with a major 7th, an augmented 11th, or Bb D F A E
Bb - +11 = Bb minor triad with a major 7th, an augmented 11th, or Bb Db F A Eb

Bb 13 = Bb major triad with a flatted 7th, and a major 13th, or Bb D F Ab G
Bb - 13 = Bb minor triad with a flatted 7th, and a major 13th or Bb Db F Ab G
Bb 13 = Bb major triad with a major 7th, and a major 13th 11th, or Bb D F A G
Bb - 13 = Bb minor triad with a major 7th, and a major 13th, or Bb Db F A G

Bb b13 = Bb major triad with a flatted 7th, and a flatted 13th, or Bb D F Ab Gb
Bb - b13 = Bb minor triad with a flatted 7th, and a flatted 13th or Bb Db F Ab Gb
Bb b13 = Bb major triad with a major 7th, and a flatted 13th or, Bb D F A Gb
Bb - b13 = Bb minor triad with a major 7th, and a flatted 13th, or Bb Db F A Gb

8. Lastly, if you see a chord with a / and a letter note underneath, that is indicating that the note should go in the bass of the chord, as the chord is an inversion.
Ex:
Fm7/C = F minor triad with a flatted seventh, and a C (the fifth of the chord) as the lowest note.

OK that was easy right? Now lets see you put it to work:

Exercise:

See if you can read and play this chord chart, then look to the example below to check yourself.

My Cherie Amour by H. Cosby, S. Moy, and S. Wonder

Intro
|[: Gbmaj7 |Bmaj7 |Gbmaj7 | Dbmaj7:]| Ab7+5 ||
La la           la la la   la, La la    la la la la
Verses 1 and 2
|[:Dbmaj7 | Gb7sus4** Gb7 | Bmaj7 | Ab7sus4 Ab7 |
1. My Cherie Amour, lovely as a summer's day
2. In a cafe or sometimes on a crowded street

Dbmaj7 | Gb7sus4 Gb7 |Bmaj7 | Ab7sus4 Ab7 |
My Cherie Amour, distant as the Milky Way
I've been near you but you never notice me

|Gbmaj7      | Ab13 |                       Fm7-5/B |
My Cherie Amour, pretty little one that I adore
My Cherie Amour, won't you tell me how could you ignore

|Bb9                       | Eb9
You're the only girl my heart beats for
That behind that little smile I wore

|Ab13                         | Dbmaj7 | Ab7+5 :]|
How I wish that you were mine
How I wish that you were mine

Repeat Intro
|[:Gbmaj7 |Cbmaj7 |Gbmaj7 | Dbmaj7 :]| A7+5 ||
La la          la la la    la, La la    la la la la

Verse 3:
|| Dmaj7 |G7sus4 G7                       | Cmaj7 | A7sus4 A7|
Maybe someday you'll see my face among the crowd
| Dmaj7         |G7sus4   G7              | Cmaj7 | A7sus4 A7|
Maybe someday I'll share your little distant cloud
|Gmaj7             | A13                      | F#m7-5/C
Oh, Cherie Amour, pretty little one that I adore
|B9                        | E9                 |
You're the only girl my heart beats for
|A13                          | Dmaj7 ||
How I wish that you were mine

Tag
|[:Gmaj7 |Cmaj7 |Gmaj7 | Dmaj7 :]| A7+5 ||
La la        la la la     la, La la     la la la la


CHECK YOUR CHORDS:
In the order they appear in the song:
Gbmaj7 = Gb Bb Db F
Bmaj7 = B D# F# A#
Dbmaj7 = Db F Ab C
Ab7+5 = Ab C E Gb
Gb7sus4 = Gb B Db E
Gb7 = Gb Bb Db E
Ab7sus4 = Ab Db Eb Gb
Ab7 = Ab C Eb Gb
Ab13 = Ab C Eb Gb F
Fm7-5/B = B F Ab B (Cb) Eb
Bb9 = Bb D F Ab C
Eb9 = Eb G Bb Db F

Have a great time with this. As always, I welcome your comments, questions and feedback. The following is a question from a reader, and my reply. I thought I would publish it, for any of you that are having the same questions.

Till next time-
Pi


Letter from Katia K.
Hello Pi,
I read your womanrock.com monthly course. You have a great work technique. I live in Austria and ad my first singing class last week and I don't know how to read the notes. I sing by imitating the artist I like. My teacher tells me just to sing and try to be original. My question is? How can I learn to read music through Internet and do you think that would be a good way to learn? I cannot go to a school. I have small children and the music school in very far away from us. How can I buy those notes and teach myself these fascinating arts? Lots of fun!
Thank you,
Katia K.

My Response:
Hi Katia-
Thanks for writing. I think its great you are taking a singing class, and glad that you like my column. You ask if I know of any good ways to learn to read music.

Your question raises an interesting point. You are a singer who wishes to read music, but as a singer, it will be very difficult to learn to read music without learning some rudimentary skills on an instrument. As singers, most of us sing along with instruments in order to get our "place", which is really the key we are singing in. (Unless of course, you are one of those rare people born with "Perfect Pitch" which is the ability to pull, memorize, and sing any pitch without the aid of an instrument.) Of course, you do not have to read music to learn to sing. There are many great singers that do it all by ear, but if you want to learn to read music (It will only help your singing!)

I would recommend you get some kind of keyboard - it can be a cheap one (like a CASIO or something). Keyboards are much easier to learn to read music on than a stringed instrument. With your keyboard, you can play the notes, but be sure to SING them as well. There are a number of sites on the Internet that are good for learning to read music, usually the first lesson is free, and then it's a low fee to continue (you can actually get quite a lot from just the first lesson, so don't be afraid to just try the free portion).

I've listed some sites below that will help you in your quest to learn to read music. You will also need an MP3 player and/or a REALPLAYER for your computer in order to use these sites. You can download these off the Internet, and then you will be able to play MP3's and RealAudio examples of what you are studying. You may also need to get some external speakers, if your computer doesn't have them built in (Headphones work too). I would not advise any site that doesn't have you listening to music as part of your learning process.

Here are some good sites:
http://www.lessons4you.com/piano/

You will need Realplayer, and a keyboard for this one.
http://www.happynote.com/music/learn.html

This one is meant for kids, but I like it a lot, if you don't mind being a little silly.
http://www.jazclass.aust.com/1readm/mn0.htm

This is a serious two-semester program for adults. It might be more than you're looking for, but it is very complete, so if you want to learn it all, start here.
http://www.bykeyword.com/pages/detail8/download-8545.html

This one is a game that you play to memorize note names. It is recommended you do this with a MIDI keyboard (look on the back of your keyboard for a MIDI port, then connect to your computer with a MIDI interface- you can get a cheap one from most music stores). However, you can also do the game with your regular computer keyboard.

Best of luck,
Pi