If it hasn’t happened, it will at some point in your life especially if you’re a pianist. Somebody will ask if you know a certain song. You will nicely tell them that either you’ve never heard of it or you know it but don’t know the chords that make up the song. They will, of course, look at you in disbelief. (Remind them that just because you’re a musician doesn’t mean you know every song in existence just as an author can’t recite every book)

Depending on where your musical experiences take you, you may be asked to play certain songs or your play list may be so long and involved that you can’t remember the entire set. This is where a fake book comes in. A fake book is a book of songs where the melody, the lyrics, and the chord changes are included. If there is anything unique about the song, like an area where everything stops for a certain amount of time, that will also be noted.

With a fake book, providing you have the ability to read chord symbols, you can add an accompaniment to the song. You could also sing along or if you’re by yourself, play a piano version of the song that is easily recognizable by anybody.

There are fake books compiled for all subjects. Broadway songs, songs of certain eras like “Songs of the 80’s” and just about any musical genre imaginable. There are even fake books that simplify classical music allowing it to be played by any pianist who can read traditional music.

Using a fake book is surprisingly easy. First, in what type of ensemble will you be using your fake book? If it’s a band, that has a guitar, bass guitar, drums, and vocals, you as the pianist will probably play only the right hand melody and comp with the left hand, unless you are taking a solo. Why? Because you don’t want your left hand bass notes to conflict with what the bass guitar player is playing.

If you’re accompanying a vocal soloist, you will provide accompaniment with both hands but you will not play the melody unless the soloist requests an instrumental break in the middle.

If you are playing by yourself, you will have to play the melody plus all accompaniment parts. That will take some practice until you get the hang of reading chords.

Fake books are invaluable for those musicians who play large volumes of music. You can find fake books at most music stores and even some larger book stores. You can also download them from numerous online sites.

I bought my first fake book when I was a teenager and they were still illegal, but available “under the counter” at most music stores. But back then I paid $50. — which was a LOT of money for anyone, let alone a teen-ager. But it was a great investment and taught me a lot about playing songs just from a lead sheet using chord symbols instead of reading the sheet music. Now they are much cheaper, and have many more songs.

Pick one up and have fun!

Do you know the incredible benefits that come to you by
learning chording techniques on the piano?

There are many — way more than just 5. But due to space
limitations, I’ll just list 5 out of hundreds:

1. By learning chording techniques, you are at least
quadrupling your chances of creating exciting new sounds
on the piano — sounds that most other piano players have no
idea how to create. That’s because arranging using chord
techniques is open-ended — there’s no end to the styles
and applications you can eventually learn and apply.

2. Learning chording techniques in NO WAY interferes with
your ability to sight-read music. Some ill-informed people
think it does, but not so! Ask any great jazz musician
from Dave Brubeck to Andre Previn to Oscar Peterson to Chuck
Corea to…. They ALL read music prolifically, yet choose
to apply chording techniques to song after song, creating
many of the great classic tunes we all know, like “Take
Five”, etc, etc.

Knowing chords and being able to apply techniques to those
chords actually HELPS YOU TO SIGHT-READ FASTER, because
instead of just seeing groups of random notes on the sheet
music, you can see chord patterns forming and dissolving
into yet another chord, another chord progression!

3. Knowing chords and applying chording techniques allows
you to become a first-rate accompanist for singers and
other musicians, should you want to do that. You will be
able to “wrap the chords” around the singer to support
them, rather than be in competition by playing the melody
from the sheet music. You’ll be able to create fills and
counter-melodies and a host of other devices that can make
you the most desired accompanist in your area.

4. By knowing chords and chording patterns you will
automatically open the door to opportunities to play at
places you never could if you only “play music as
written”. When people hear you play, they will immediately sense
that “this person knows what they are doing”, which can very
well bring invitations to play in fraternal clubs,
churches, community centers, and even weddings and
funerals. I have had students of retirement age who have
fulfilled their lifelong dream to play in public, even if
in a small venue. I recall a CPA in Washington State who
took lessons from me by cassette for a couple years and
got good enough to play at a local restaurant-pub on weekends.
He didn’t need the money, but just LOVED the opportunity
to play for folks and have them sing along.

5. Being able to apply chords to song after song means you
NEVER HAVE TO PLAY A SONG THE SAME WAY TWICE! When people
see me play, they often ask me to play the song again —
but are often surprised when I play it again, since I
create new chord progressions and fills and improvisations
each time — so it never sounds the same.

There’s a classic story about Erroll Garner, the great
pianist and composer of the classic song “Misty”. A lady
came up to him after a concert and raved about how he
played “Misty”, and asked him to play it again the same
way. His reply was “I can’t remember how I played it last
time — but I’ll play it again anyway”, which greatly
surprised the lady.

Most people play the piano by reading music and playing what is on the written sheet music, and that’s fine. Others play by reading only the melody of the song, but also by using the chord symbols that appear above the written music.

Which should you do? I say BOTH. There are benefits to knowing how to do both, so don’t sacrifice one for the other. Why limit yourself to just one way? So keep learning to read music — the better you can read, the better off you will be in many situations. But also learn all you can about music theory and chords, as that will enable you to create a much bigger sound on the piano than you would get from just reading the written sheet music.

For more information on the subject, click on How To Play More Notes Without Reading More Notes.

Chord symbols (for example, Cmaj7 or G6) 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, tells the musician which note is the root of the chord. In an E6 chord, for instance, the E serves as the root. Chord symbols also allow for inverted chords, or chords with a root other than the bass note. These chord symbols express that by showing the bass note with a diagonal slash under the original symbol.

Quality, the second part in chord symbols, denotes whether the chord is major, minor, 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.

The extension in chord symbols, written after the quality, shows the musician if the chord differs from a triad (a third chord), such as an eleventh or seventh. 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, 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. 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.

The best of all worlds, however, is to be able to read music as it is written in a sheet music score, but also be able to read the chord symbols. Then the musician is free to choose which is best – the written part, or an improvised part. The sky is the limit for musicians who can do both.

 Chord symbols & reading the melody in sheet music

Chord symbols (for example, Cmaj7 or G6) 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, tells the musician which note is the root of the chord. In an E6 chord, for instance, the E serves as the root. Chord symbols also allow for inverted chords, or chords with a root other than the bass note. These chord symbols express that by showing the bass note with a diagonal slash under the original symbol.

Quality, the second part in chord symbols, denotes whether the chord is major, minor, 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.

The extension in chord symbols, written after the quality, shows the musician if the chord differs from a triad (a third chord), such as an eleventh or seventh. 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, 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. 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.

The best of all worlds, however, is to be able to read music as it is written in a sheet music score, but also be able to read the chord symbols. Then the musician is free to choose which is best – the written part, or an improvised part. The sky is the limit for musicians who can do both. For a course on playing piano using chord symbols, take a look at “How To PLAY More Notes Without READING More Notes”

Even many musicians haven’t heard of figured bass. Also called

basso continuo, a simple explanation of the term is a short way to

note chords on a musical score. If you have never heard of it, it’s

most likely because the method isn’t used today. However, it could

be considered akin to, or a precursor of, a modern chord chart.

Figured bass originated in the Baroque era of the17th and 18th

century. Music has evolved over the centuries and still does today.

The development of figured bass came in response to one of these

early musical style evolutions. The Baroque music period came on the

heels of the Renaissance period. Music from the Renaissance was

generally characterized by its reliance upon intervals of thirds. Of

course, musical trends evolve over a period of time. For this

reason, it’s difficult to pinpoint an exact year when this trend

shifted. Usually a new musical era is well under way before anyone

realizes there has been a change. Modal characteristics of

Renaissance music eventually gave way to more tonal music. The

defining characteristic of tonal music is its use of fifths. This is

in contrast to the previous intervals of thirds. This led the way

for Baroque style music.

Composers and musicians in this period began using more elaborate

instrumentation during the Baroque period. New musical instruments

were being developed that contributed to the trend. Many of them had

wider range capabilities, allowing for more variety in musical

scores. New playing techniques were also developed, lending a

distinction to music of this period such as had not previously been

heard.

The more complex nature of Baroque music made a new form of musical

notation a necessity. This is how figured bass was born. Playing

music by reading figured bass required more than rudimentary musical

skills. With this method, the melody line and the bass line are

noted on a traditional musical scale (bass clef and treble clef).

The instrumentalist(s) would fill in the harmony lines based on the

bass note. The harmony part, or the part that was implied but not

written in the score, was known as the continuo.

To play figured bass, it is necessary to have a working

understanding of chords. An instrumentalist reading a score with

figured bass would see the melody notes and the bass notes. The

instrumentalist would assume that the continuo notes that would

accompany would be a standard fifth interval unless otherwise noted.

If another variation was desired, numbers would appear on the score

underneath the bass note indicating the appropriate interval.

Like many trends, the use of the figured bass method became

obsolete. Today, chords are often indicated by abbreviating their

names (i.e.,”C7” for a C major/minor seventh chord). Similar to

figured bass, instrumentalists have some leeway for improvisation

with this type of musical annotation. This is in contrast to music

that has every note for each part annotated on a musical staff. Like

shorthand once was to writing, so was figured bass to music. And

like shorthand, changes in technology and trends have greatly

diminished the use of figured bass.