# Learn to read notation one chord at a time

Each chord is printed on a staff instead of named, either stacked or laid out as a run of notes going up, going down or in shuffled order.

## Recognize the chord at a glance

Beginners read music one note at a time: find the line or space, then count up from a note they know. Fluent readers look at a stack of notes and recognize the chord, much as you read a word without spelling it out.

You can practice this directly. Switch the question from the chord’s name to the chord on a staff, and each question becomes a short reading exercise that you answer on the keys.

![The practice screen with the question printed on a treble staff, the keyboard hint below.](https://pianokitty.com/features/en/notation/app.webp)

## Four ways to print the same chord

The same four notes can be printed in four layouts, and each one practices something different:

- **Harmonic**: the notes are stacked, as a chord is written in a score, so you learn to read the shape at a glance.
- **Ascending**: the notes run left to right from the bottom, like a broken chord played bass first.
- **Descending**: the notes run from the top down. Beginners find this direction harder, which is a good reason to practice it.
- **Shuffle**: the notes come in random order, so there is no shape to rely on and you have to read every note.

![A seventh chord printed as a stack of four notes on a treble staff.](https://pianokitty.com/features/en/notation/harmonic.webp)

![The same chord printed as four notes rising from left to right.](https://pianokitty.com/features/en/notation/ascending.webp)

![The same chord printed as four notes falling from left to right.](https://pianokitty.com/features/en/notation/descending.webp)

![The same chord printed as four notes in a mixed order.](https://pianokitty.com/features/en/notation/shuffle.webp)

## Where to set it

You choose the layout in [Preferences](https://pianokitty.com/preferences), next to the other notation options: whole notes or filled ones, the clef shown or hidden, and the root highlighted. The layout does not affect how you *play* the chord. You can read it shuffled and play it as a block, or read it stacked and roll it.

![The notation settings: layout (harmonic, ascending, descending, shuffle), whole notes, root highlight.](https://pianokitty.com/features/en/notation/settings.webp)

> Without a keyboard, you can use the [naming quiz](https://pianokitty.com/features/naming) with the staff as well: read the chord and pick its name.

## Try a reading drill

- Try it: [Sevenths, stacked](https://pianokitty.com/app?subject=chords&ct=6,7,8&bn=0,2,5,7,9&inv=0&nd=staff&sclef=true&smel=off): Read the shape at a glance.
- Try it: [Sevenths, rising](https://pianokitty.com/app?subject=chords&ct=6,7,8&bn=0,2,5,7,9&inv=0&nd=staff&sclef=true&smel=asc): A broken chord, bass first.
- Try it: [Sevenths, falling](https://pianokitty.com/app?subject=chords&ct=6,7,8&bn=0,2,5,7,9&inv=0&nd=staff&sclef=true&smel=desc): The direction beginners find harder.
- Try it: [Sevenths, shuffled](https://pianokitty.com/app?subject=chords&ct=6,7,8&bn=0,2,5,7,9&inv=0&nd=staff&sclef=true&smel=random): Random order, so you read every note.

Related: [Turn the staff to match the keys](https://pianokitty.com/features/staff-rotation.md), [Chord names or sheet music](https://pianokitty.com/features/chord-notation.md), [Languages and notations](https://pianokitty.com/features/languages.md)

Source: https://pianokitty.com/features/notation