Summarize this article:

Normal sheet music would have the exact notes of the chord symbolized on the staff. With a chord chart, you just have a series of letters and numbers that represents each chord. The name of the chord tells you how to build the chord on the piano. It gives you information about which keys to put your fingers on to play that chord. On a chord chart, the root note is the first capital letter for the name of the chord. The root note is the first note you play, and the note upon which the rest of the chord is built. All the other notes in a chord are typically named in relation to the root note. For example, a seventh chord is named because the last note in the chord is the seventh note away from the root note. Major and minor chords are some of the most basic chords and make up the vast majority of songs you would play on piano. A minor chord is, essentially, a major chord turned upside down. Major chords and minor chords are both three-note chords. Major chords typically are notated simply by the capital letter of the root note. However, seventh chords are the exception to this rule. If you see "C7" on a chord chart, that refers to a C Seventh chord, which is different from a C Major Seventh chord. For seventh chords, you'll see "major" abbreviated either with a "M" or "maj" after the root note. For minor chords, there will be a lower-case "m" after the capital letter. When you play a minor chord, the middle note is lowered by half a step relative to the major chord, but the other two notes remain the same. This gives a minor chord a sadder, more serious tone. Many keys have sharps or flats in their names, usually represented in the chord name as a "#" for a sharp or a "b" for a flat. These correspond to the black keys on your piano. The black key to the right of, or above, a white key is that key's sharp. For example, the black key immediately to the right of C is C sharp. The black key immediately to the left of, or below, a white key, on the other hand, is that key's flat. Black keys are both to the right and to the left of different white keys. So the same black key that could be considered C sharp could also be considered D flat. Keep this in mind when you're trying to find notes on the piano keyboard. There are 6 basic chords that can be played on piano using only the white keys 3 major chords and 3 minor chords. You can play songs using these chords without having to worry about sharps and flats. The three major chords are C, G, and F. The three minor chords are A minor, D minor, and E minor. These chords are a good place to start if you're new to piano. Following the root note and whether the chord is major or minor, the name of the chord will list other information you'll need to play the chord on the piano. Different types of chords are built in different ways. To understand this from the name of the chord, you'll need to learn a little vocabulary. For example, if you see "Caug" on a chord chart, you need to play an augmented C chord. When you augment a chord, you take the major chord and raise the last note a half step. Since a C Major chord would be C-E-G, and a "Caug" chord would be C-E-G sharp. A diminished chord is created in nearly the opposite way, by lowering the middle and last notes a half step. For example, if you saw the name "Cdim" on a chord chart, you would play C-E flat-G flat. You can also think of Cdim as a minor C chord with the fifth lowered by half a step. Check the chord charts for some of your favorite songs to see what chords show up the most often. Write them down and memorize the notes that you play. Whenever you see that notation, you'll know what chord to play without having to get bogged down in music theory. Search online for fingering charts that will show you where to place your fingers for certain chords. You can identify "chord shapes" that will remain the same no matter what the root note. You must place your first finger on the key that corresponds to the root note.
Find the chord chart. Identify the root note of a chord. Hear the difference between major and minor chords. Find sharps and flats. Start with simple chords. Read the next part of the notation to build the chord. Memorize common chords.