Trying to clearup confusion on sheet music...

[No name]

I've purchased some sheet music, and one piece that I purchased was Christina Aguilera's "Hurt", mainly because I thought the piano part is so simple, yet so elegant. While I think i'll be able to stumble through the pieces, something confuses me. I've read about it before, but i'm not sure how it is used in this case. Well, on the sheet music the part of the piano is notated as it is on the song, but above each meter there are the Chord names. Now I know this is there for accompaniment, but WHY is it there if you already have notes on the staff? I mean, is it there in case the pianist wants to play simple block chords or arppegios to accompany the vocalist instead of playing the melody? Or is there for you to play both the melody AND the chords? This is throwing me off a bit because I have read about this, but in the book i've read they don't put their examples to use, and it confuses me actually seeing both notes in the staff as well as chord names up above the beginning of each measure. Anybody know?

[BertKoor]

Most starting guitar players really suck at decyphering chords in staff notation, but have no problem at all with chord names (C Am D7 etc) so this way guitar players also can have fun (which means more sales for just a little bit more work)

[No name]

Thought so. Thanks a lot!

[Polite Company]

Also if you feel like improvising sometimes its easier to glance at the chord symbols that to glean it from the staff.

[guitargeek9]

Using the chord symbols versus the actual notation can help explain certain things. YOu have different voicings for certain chords, like for example, you can play a Cmaj7 chord from the chord symbol, but it in fact can be a E/C Major 7, an inversion of a regular C Major 7. It can also use to help decipher what position the chord is in, like an Fmaj7 in 1st position, versus 13th position, radically. all in all, chord symbols are rather vague, when the notation is more accurate, just harder to sight-read.
Tyler

[JumpingJackFlash]

Using the chord symbols versus the actual notation can help explain certain things. YOu have different voicings for certain chords, like for example, you can play a Cmaj7 chord from the chord symbol, but it in fact can be a E/C Major 7, an inversion of a regular C Major 7. It can also use to help decipher what position the chord is in, like an Fmaj7 in 1st position, versus 13th position, radically. all in all, chord symbols are rather vague, when the notation is more accurate, just harder to sight-read.
Tyler

True, but in my experience, with chord symbols in pop music, when the bass note is not the root of the chord, the bass note is usually written after a /.
For example, D/E means a D major chord over an E in the bass. But note, that E may be from the Bass Guitar's part, so the chord that the Guitarist actually plays could simply be a D major chord (in any position, with any consonant note as the lowest.)

[No name]

I really must admit that, after reading your post JumpingJackFlash, it makes me realize that I have really no idea how to implement chords effectively in my music. I'm still trying to grasp using chords in diff ways other than what I always seem to resort to. That is playing just simple triad chords in block chord progressions, with an occasional 7th chord thrown in (if the music reqiures it, but the music i've studied so far isn't very difficult, it's all pop.) Just in case anyone wonders, i'm going through...

Christina Aguilera-Hurt
Alicia Keys-Fallin'
Alicia Keys-Woman's Worth
Schubert-Ave Maria (the piano accompaniment, of course).