Chord symbols, found heavily used in jazz and other modern music, notates chord progressions and changes. They can be defined almost as a shorthand for written music. All Chord Symbols have a root, the starting note of the chord. Chord Symbols are written not as musical notes but in the corresponding alphabetical letters of the note and often include numbers to advise of the type of chord. For example, C7 or Dmaj7. Some people say they are easier to read as you don't have to see every note in the stave, rather, you just play what is written on the page. So to play chord C, it would be written C, or to play chord E, it would be written E. There are 4 elements of Chord symbols - The Root, The Quality, The Extension and The Alterations, the definitions are discussed in this article.

The Root - This tells the musician which note is the root of the chord. For example, in a chord symbol written C7, the note C is the root. You can also have inverted chords which are chords with a root other than the bass note. This is written with a diagonal line under the original symbol.

The Quality - This tells the musician if the chord is augmented, minor, major or diminished. A Dmaj7, the maj tells the musician that the D chord is a major chord. They are written on the page with abbreviations - aug (augmented), min (minor), maj (major), dim (diminished).

The Extension - This is written with a number to identify to the musician if the chord is a 7th, 6th, etc. It is written to tell the musician if the chord is something other than a third chord, known as a Triad. If there is no number, the musician assumes that to play a triad so plays it with a third not a 7th or 6th added.

The Alteration - Essentially, this is the part of the chord which is up to the musician to play or express. Some musicians use the Alteration as separate notes, to help add to or play the melody. The Alteration gives the musician instruction for playing the chord and is always written in parentheses after the extension or The Quality if no Extension is written. For instance, (no fourth) would tell the musician to play the chord without the fourth tone. There are other important Alterations such as 'Sus' which is short for suspension. This tells the musician to play the fourth scale note instead of the third in a triad chord, written Csus. If the musician sees a '-' it means to lower (flat) the chord tone. For example C-7 would mean to flat the 7th of the chord, whereas a '+' would mean to raise (or sharpen). For example, C+6 would be a sharpened 6th of the chord.

Chord symbols allow the musician to improvise and create their own styles (genres) of melody. It is recommended that all musicians should be able to read chord symbols as well as notation.