A chord chart (or chart) is a form of

musical notation Musical notation is any system used to visually represent music. Systems of notation generally represent the elements of a piece of music that are considered important for its performance in the context of a given musical tradition. The proce ...

that describes the basic harmonic and

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...

ic information for a song or tune. It is the most common form of notation used by professional

session musician A session musician (also known as studio musician or backing musician) is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a reco ...

s playing

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

. It is intended primarily for a rhythm section (usually consisting of

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

and bass). In these genres the musicians are expected to be able to

improvise Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

the individual notes used for the chords (the " voicing") and the appropriate ornamentation, counter melody or

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, and classical music, for the low-pitched P ...

. In some chord charts, the harmony is given as a series of chord symbols above a traditional musical staff. The rhythmic information can be very specific and written using a form of traditional notation, sometimes called rhythmic notation, or it can be completely unspecified using slash notation, allowing the musician to fill the bar with chords or fills any way they see fit (called '' comping''). In Nashville notation the key is left unspecified on the chart by substituting numbers for chord names. This facilitates on-the-spot key changes to songs. Chord charts may also include explicit parts written in modern music notation (such as a musical riff that the song is dependent on for character), lyrics or lyric fragments, and various other information to help the musician compose and play their part.

Rhythmic notation

Rhythmic notation specifies the exact

in which to play or comp the indicated chords. The chords are written above the staff and the rhythm is indicated in the traditional manner, though pitch is unspecified through the use of slashes placed on the center line instead of notes. This is contrasted with the less specific slash notation.Konowitz, Bert (1998). ''Teach Yourself Chords and Progressions at the Keyboard'', p.68-69. .

Slash notation

Slash notation is a form of purposely vague

which indicates or requires that an accompaniment player or players improvise their own

pattern or comp according to the chord symbol given above the staff. On the staff a slash is placed on each beat (so that there are four slashes per measure in 4/4 time). Slash notation and rhythmic notation may both be used in the same piece, for example, with the more specific rhythmic notation used in a section where the horn section is playing a specific melody or rhythmic figure that the pianist must support, and with slash notation written for the pianist for use underneath improvised solos.

Nashville notation

Nashville notation or Nashville Number System is a method of notating chord changes using numbers based on scale degrees, in lieu of chord names. For example, in the key of C-Major, the chord D- minor-seventh can be written as 2−⁷, 2m⁷, or ii⁷. "The musicians in Nashville use the Nashville Number System almost exclusively for conveying a song's structure and arrangement in the recording studio." In Nashville Notation, the chord numbers map to the chord built diatonically on each

scale degree In music theory, the scale degree is the position of a particular note on a scale relative to the tonic—the first and main note of the scale from which each octave is assumed to begin. Degrees are useful for indicating the size of intervals ...

in the Major key -- or the closest relative Major key -- of the

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

. Chords can be built in the same way for all twelve Major keys. Therefore, in the key of C, this chord progression

,  C / / / ,  F / / / ,  G / / / ,  C / / / ,

--and in the key of G, this chord progression

,  G / / / ,  C / / / ,  D / / / ,  G / / / ,

--in Nashville notation, the chord chart for both would be notated as

1 4 5 1

By convention, Nashville notation eliminates the slashes and bar lines that denote the beats in the measure: "With the number system it’s understood that each number written on your chart is given the value of one measure of music. In 4/4 time, that’s a total of four beats per number on the chart." This method of

notation In linguistics and semiotics, a notation system is a system of graphics or symbols, Character_(symbol), characters and abbreviated Expression (language), expressions, used (for example) in Artistic disciplines, artistic and scientific disciplines ...

allows musicians who are familiar with basic

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

to play the same

in any key. :

Grid notation

In some European countries (particularly France), pop and jazz musicians often use so-called "chord grids" that show in a graphical way the chord progression. To illustrate, below is an example of two-part tunes, each eight bars long. Each square stands for a bar, while the "•/•”symbol means to stay on the same chord as the previous bar. The song structure can then be written down as a succession of the different parts. For example A-A-B-A, that would mean to play twice the "A" part, once the "B" part, and then again once the "A" part. Squares can also be separated diagonally for bars having two chords, as in the example below:

Chord charts in computer files

Digital representations of chord charts enable musicians to create, store and distribute song arrangements using computer systems, computer networks and the

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

Plain text (ASCII) representations of chord charts

plain text In computing, plain text is a loose term for data (e.g. file contents) that represent only characters of readable material but not its graphical representation nor other objects ( floating-point numbers, images, etc.). It may also include a lim ...

(

ASCII ASCII ( ), an acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard for representing a particular set of 95 (English language focused) printable character, printable and 33 control character, control c ...

) representation of digital chord charts supports broad compatibility across computer systems and devices, since

text files can be serialized to disk, transmitted via

email Electronic mail (usually shortened to email; alternatively hyphenated e-mail) is a method of transmitting and receiving Digital media, digital messages using electronics, electronic devices over a computer network. It was conceived in the ...

, shared through cloud storage services, and displayed in text editors that are preinstalled on most operating systems. : Below is a non-exhaustive list of

chord chart representations, including examples for reference. (You can help improve this article by adding other plain text representations of chord charts to this section.)

Format: Pipes and slashes (ASCII)

Chord charts can be represented schematically, where: * Bar lines are given as pipe symbols ", " * Chord symbols are represented as text * Beats are optionally indicated with a forward slash "/". To illustrate, the following

text represents the first verse of the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

Amazing Grace, in 3/4

meter The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

Amazing Grace (Traditional)

Verse 1:
,  G  / / ,  G7   / /  ,  C / / ,  G  / /   , 
,  G  / / ,  G/B  / /  ,  D / / ,  D7 / /   , 
,  G  / / ,  G7/B / /  ,  C / / ,  G / G/F# , 
,  Em / / ,  G/D  / D7 ,  G / / ,  G / /    , ,

The performer should interpret this such that each chord symbol occupies one beat, with each slash signifying that the preceding chord should be played for additional beats, represented by the number of additional slashes after the chord symbol. For example, the first measure (bar) of this chord chart consists of three beats of the G-Major chord. A more compact form of this could be represented as:

Amazing Grace (Traditional)

Verse 1:
,  G  ,  G7       ,  C ,  G        , 
,  G  ,  G/B      ,  D ,  D7       , 
,  G  ,  G7/B     ,  C ,  G / G/F# , 
,  Em ,  G/D / D7 ,  G ,  G        , ,

Format: Chords over lyrics (ASCII)

The term "chord chart" can also describe a plain

text, digital representation of a lyric sheet where chord symbols are placed above the

syllables A syllable is a basic unit of organization within a sequence of speech sounds, such as within a word, typically defined by linguists as a ''nucleus'' (most often a vowel) with optional sounds before or after that nucleus (''margins'', which are ...

of the

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

where the performer should change chords. Continuing with the Amazing Grace example, a " chords over lyrics" version of the chord chart could be represented as follows:

Amazing Grace (Traditional)

 erse 1 G      G7         C         G
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
     G       G/B         D      D7
That saved a wretch like me
  G        G7/B      C       G
I once was lost, but now I'm found
G/F# Em         G/D D7 G
Was  blind, but now I  see

Format: ChordPro (ASCII)

ChordPro is one

file representation standard for the aforementioned style of lyric sheet, but instead of placing the chords above the lyrics, the chords changes are placed inline with the lyrics, directly preceding the lyrical syllable where the chords should change. Given a ChordPro format input file, the ChordPro program outputs a format similar to the aforementioned " chords over lyrics" format.https://www.chordpro.org/chordpro/chordpro-introduction/ In ChordPro format, Amazing Grace could be notated as follows:





A- azing  7race, how  weet the  ound
That  aved a  /Bretch like  e  7I  nce was  7/Bost, but  ow I'm  ound
 /F#as   mlind, but  /Dow  7   ee

ChordPro files often have the

file extensions A filename extension, file name extension or file extension is a suffix to the filename, name of a computer file (for example, Text file, .txt, MP3, .mp3, .exe) that indicates a characteristic of the file contents or its intended use. A filename e ...

.cho, .crd, .chopro, .chord and .pro, but could also have the common .txt extension. Multiple open source and commercial software support ChordPro format chord charts, including: * ChordPro code libraries *
ChordPro reference implementation (Github)
* Chord chart format conversion *
Menees Chord Sheet Converter
- for converting to ChordPro format from other, less-strict chord charts ASCII representations *
Frederik Tesche's online Ultimate Guitar to ChordPro Converter
- for converting Ultimate Guitar chord charts to Chord Pro format * Chord chart organization & file management *
OnSong
natively works with ChordPro format chord charts ** Gig Performer ** Th
Charts app by WorshipTools
natively works with ChordPro format chord charts * Chord chart

publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

*
CCLI SongSelect
publishes chord charts for songs in ChordPro format

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chord Chart Musical notation Accompaniment Chords Jazz terminology