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Sheet music often prints the chord names above the bars.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
Figure out the chords in a song by looking them up in a songbook, on the Internet or by asking a musician friend who already knows the chords. You can also use trial and error: Play the song on your stereo over and over until you have figured out the chords on guitar, piano or another musical instrument. - 2). Find the root note of the chord. The root note is easy to determine --- it's the letter that begins the name of the chord, plus any sharps or flats. For example, for the chord C7, the root note is C. For the chord F#m7, the root note is F#. You can safely play only root notes along with any song. Just play the root note that matches whatever chord is being played at any given moment.
- 3). Add extra notes in order to imply a particular chord in the song. Copy other notes being played by other instrumentalists with whom you are working on the song. Check out a chord chart that shows you the root note and melody note for each chord you'd like to imply. You may also use a general chord chart and pick out any notes that are part of the chord you want to play. Use trial and error to see what sounds good with the root note and the notes that other instruments are playing.
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