Showing off your piano skills is not a tough job, but is not that easy either. Most people learn piano playing by playing just the written music- playing the exact notation. This leaves little room for creativity, and, therefore, little room to show off, right?

To show off your amateur skills, instead of following the harmony note by note, follow the chord symbols written above the harmonies, bridging the gaps with whatever you desire. Playing by the chord leaves room for experimentation, the freedom to create, to invent. In other words, to show off your amateur skills. This, however, does not mean that playing by written music is less important. It is a valuable skill indeed.

The first of the chord symbols, the root, tells which note is the root of the chord. Exempli gratia, in a C7 chord, C is the root. Piece of cake, this.

Quality, second part in chord symbolization, denotes whether a chord is major, minor, diminished or augmented. In Emaj7, the maj tells that E is major. Similarly, maj can be replaced with aug, min, dim.

The extension in the symbol, written after quality, reveals if the chord varies from a triad, such as an 11th or 6th or 7th or 13th. A C6 would mean that chord C includes the 6th note above C, which is A. if such notation is not shown; it is to be assumed that the chord is a triad.

Alteration, the last part in chord symbolization, is usually expressed. It gives the musician specific instructions for playing the chord and is written in parenthesis after the extension or the quality, if no extension exists. (No seventh) would tell the pianist to leave the seventh tone alone. Sus for suspension, would require playing the fourth note instead of the usual third. Minus sign indicates lowering (flattening) of a chord tone, a plus would imply a raise (sharpening) a tone. Example, D+7 would mean to raise the 7th of the chord.

Once you see through these intricacies, you will be reading only a handful of notes per measure, but you will be playing a lot of notes arpeggios, chords, riffs, fills, etc. you can then add a personal touch to the music, and play your song how you want to play it, not like everybody else is. A great way to show off your amateur skills!