Reading Chord Symbols

You can build chords from root and quality. Now learn to read chord symbols — the shorthand notation musicians use on lead sheets, fake books, and tabs. A chord symbol like Cmaj7, Am7b5, or Gadd9 encodes everything you need to know: the root note, quality, extensions, alterations, and bass note.

Chord symbols have five parts: the root (C, F♯, B♭), quality abbreviation (m, dim, aug, 7, maj7), extensions (9, 11, 13), alterations (b5, #9), and slash bass note (/E, /B). Not every symbol has all five, but reading them left to right always works. The interactive lesson below breaks each part down with examples and mini-quizzes.

Mastering chord symbol reading lets you play from any sheet music without tab or notation. You will see Cmaj7 and instantly know it is C, E, G, B — a major triad with a major seventh. Practice with the mini-quizzes below, then use the Chord Symbol Decoder tool to break down any symbol you encounter.

Chord symbols are one of three notation systems every musician meets. The other two are chord diagrams (the visual fretboard grids used for chord shapes) and tablature (tab) (the ASCII number-on-lines format used for riffs and solos). Symbols are the fastest for harmonic communication; diagrams are the fastest for chord shapes; tab is the fastest for exact finger positions. See the Reading Chord Diagrams and Reading Tablature lessons for the other two legs of the trio.