Notation
Chords can be represented in various ways. The most common notation systems are:
- Plain staff notation, used in classical music (see figure).
- Roman numerals, commonly used in harmonic analysis to denote the scale step on which the chord is built. See: Roman numeral analysis.
- Figured bass, much used in the Baroque era, uses numbers added to a bass line written on staff (music), to enable keyboard players to improvise chords with the right hand while playing the bass with their left.
- Macro symbols, sometimes used in modern musicology, to denote chord root and quality.
- Various chord names and symbols used in popular music lead sheets, fake books, and chord charts, to quickly lay out the harmonic groundplan of a piece so that the musician may improvise, jam, or vamp on it.
Read more about this topic: Chord (music)