Demystifying Piano Chords Charts

You like the melodic notes of the piano, which are present in various instrumentals and jazz music. So you thought about learning it, and with determination in mind, you made the very first Google search with the query, “How to learn piano?” Well, that’s how you found this page, and that’s how you will find any other web page related to online piano lessons.

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But on every web page, there’s a chart depicting different notes in your favourite song. In addition to the notes, you also see some special symbols used throughout the chart, which are completely new to you.

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Fret not. Today, with this blog, we are going to help you understand piano chord charts and what the different symbols present in them actually mean. We are also going to showcase how learning about chord charts and symbols is important for you as a musician. So, let’s begin.

Understanding the Basics of Piano Chord Charts

Humans have been writing down music since they first began writing. Before music compositions had notations in them, they used to be passed down to the next generation entirely firsthand through performances, practices, and training. 

However, the early musical notations were found on tablets carved in 2000 BC. Catholic monks created the present-day staff notation to standardize church music. 

There are two ways of learning piano chord charts. The first one is by understanding staff notation, which is based on grand staff. The second method is by learning about chord notations.

Chord Notation

Certain music genres do not specify the backing instrument, so if you use full-staff notation, you might get puzzled by all the unnecessary details. At the same time, in jazz and pop music, musicians only need to follow a specific sequence of chords. 

Chord notations are primarily used for describing chord changes and rhythmic notations. 

This knowledge can be handy if you want to play in a band. 

You can find more about the chord series here.

Here’s a quick example of what you will be seeing in chord notations:-

• F = Chord name or the chord’s root note on which it is built. This symbol leads to the name of the chord. 

• maj = Chord quality, which means how the specific chord needs to sound, such as significant, minor, diminished, and others. 
• 9 = Extension means the scale you will use to play the chord. The extensions are used when chords need to be played beyond root, third, and fifth degrees. 
• #7 = Alterations are the ones that are simply raised or lowered by a semitone. These tones can include flattened and sharpened forms.

You will also like our piano scale series lessons.

What is a Piano Chord Chart and How Does It Work?

Interpreting Chord Symbols on a Piano Chord Chart

Let’s look at some of the common chord symbols you will find in the Piano chord chart.

Eighth Note

The quaver, in musical terms, is called the eighth note, lasting for half a beat, giving it a rhythmic value of half a quarter note. The name eight note is given because of the total number of notes present in the whole note.

Quarter Note

A quarter note is as long as one count, and it is also considered one of the most common types of musical notes you need to learn to play piano. Quarter notes are used as a baseline to count other rhythms. To practice playing this note, you need to press the key on the piano and say “1”, and when you lift your finger, you need to say “2.” Doing this will keep your notes perfectly in time. When you feel comfortable playing this note, you can advance and count to “4” instead of “2.”

Half Note

Half notes last for two counts, two times longer than quarter notes; these are the 2nd most common rhythm you will find after quarter notes in your piano lessons. A half note is represented by the symbol given in the above image and can also be present at any pitch. The best way to practice half notes is by counting (1 – 2) before playing the following note and counting again (3 – 4).

Whole Note

Yes, there are a number of notes present on the piano, but in truth, it’s just 12 notes that kept on repeating 7 times on an 88-key acoustic piano. This symbol represents a whole note which is made from an open note with no stem. Also, you can find a whole note on any pitch and it consists of 4 beats. When playing the whole note it will last as long as 4 quarter notes and 2 half notes.

Treble Clef

The treble in music is used for producing and depicting high notes. The beautiful swirl, which you can see here, is also called G-clef. In addition, wherever you see this treble clef symbol, that means you have to use the right hand to play that section from the piano chord chart.

Bass Clef

This symbol looks more like a half-heart, which has 2 dots present on the right. In most cases, when you see this symbol, you have to play that specific section of the chord chart with your left hand. Bass clefs are associated with the low notes that produce a rumbling and thumping sound in a composition.

Sharp

A sharp symbol is denoted by a hash (#), and when it is placed in front of a note, the pitch of the note must increase by a half step or a semitone. For example, if we talk about C#. It is half a step higher than C. In piano, black keys are usually considered sharp or flat. 
A flat pitch is lower by one half-step or a semitone. This particular symbol is a key signature at the start of the piano chord chart. When they are not present at the beginning, and you find them in the middle of the sheet, then both flat (b) and sharp (#) are called accidentals.

Overall Benefits of Using Piano Chord Chart

The first thing you need to know about learning piano chord charts is that the music you play on the piano is more of a language. As a result, like any other language, music has its own written form. This written form of music gives musicians a common ground or, in other words, a medium to communicate.

A music composer creates a new piece and writes it down using specific symbols so that different instrumentalists can play and practice the same piece.  

On the other hand, if you know how to read musical symbols and chord charts, you can read any musical composition from anywhere in the world, as the symbols and chord charts remain the same across countries. The two individuals, a music composer and an instrumentalist, may never meet each other in real life, but they will communicate through chord charts, symbols, and notations.