There’s an overwhelming amount of information online regarding piano chords. Navigating all these charts, articles, and YouTube tutorials can be dauntingly complex.
Beginners often begin their musical careers by creating three note chords called triads. To create one, start on the root (bottom) note and count up four half steps until reaching the middle note; then count three more half steps until reaching the top note.
Basics
Piano chords have become an integral component of modern songs, making their study essential. But for beginners starting out on their journey to learning them can be intimidating: with so many lists and charts designed to teach piano chords out there it may seem overwhelming at first. Here’s some advice from experienced musicians on where you should begin your search:
First and foremost, you should understand that a piano chord is simply a group of notes played together. A basic form is a triad, made up of three notes which may be major, minor, or augmented in sound depending on how close together they are played in half steps. The sound created by each chord depends on this distance between its tones – or more precisely measured distance in half steps between tones of its chord.
To create a basic piano chord, start with the root note and play its thirds above it. To do this, count up from your initial root note in half steps until you reach its next note – in this example C, E and G are your three thirds above that to form a simple piano chord.
Major chords are another fundamental form of piano chord. To form one, simply raise the second note by one semitone from what it currently is (if playing C, for instance; this would create a major seventh chord that adds an upbeat, happy sound to your music).
To convert a major chord to minor one, all it takes is moving its third note down by half steps – for example if working with C major chord, move its second note from C to D – this will create a minor chord with more somber tones.
When learning piano chords, it’s essential to practice each pattern until it becomes natural and effortless. While this could take some time and dedication on your part, once these basic fundamentals have been mastered it won’t take long before you are creating harmonic progressions and playing your favorite songs on piano!
Major and Minor Chords
Chords come in either major or minor varieties, each offering different benefits and drawbacks. Recognizing and mastering both kinds of chords will allow you to make informed musical decisions when selecting chords for use in any particular song or progression. One effective way of learning the difference between major and minor chords is practicing playing them separately — one octave or two below your melody will do just fine — this will enable you to hear their differences more readily as well as familiarizing yourself with playing both at once.
To create a major chord, start with a root note and build up to the third of a major scale or chord pattern by adding four half steps – also known as major third – before moving up to its fifth, which is known as perfect fifth. For minor chords you can do just the opposite by starting on second of major scale or chord pattern and adding three semitones (minor third). This will produce five note chord which will then become known as minor chord.
Once you’ve mastered these basic patterns, it’s time to expand on them with more complex notes and chords. One such tone is the seventh; this may appear as either a number after the chord symbol, or be written out fully (such as C maj 7). This simple yet effective step adds another note to a fifth chord for added flavor and complexity.
One common addition is a flatted 3rd, which can be accomplished easily and will create a minor chord similar to that of its major equivalent. This technique makes switching back and forth from major to minor chords easy if necessary.
Adding Tones
If you want to add variety and depth to your piano chords, add various tones. Tones are intervals between notes that serve to alter their sound; adding one (like adding a major 7th to G major gives it an more dramatic sound; similarly adding one to C major gives it a more subdued one).
To create a new ton for a chord, start at its root and move up by half steps to each key – this way you will produce minor, major 7, diminished or augmented chords based on their number of tones.
A chord is any group of notes played together with an identifiable rhythm. Triads are perhaps the most commonly encountered chord, made up of three notes played consecutively across a scale to produce its characteristic sound. Major, minor, diminished and augmented triads all provide different intervals and sounds within itself – each creating its own soundscape.
Once you are comfortable with basic chords and have learned them well, try shifting the root up or down an octave for an alternative sound and feel. Triads and simple chords should suffice while learning, however experimenting with rhythm changes could provide additional surprises – play one root per beat or half beat to see how this changes the sound!
Omitting some tones within a chord is also possible; for instance, in C major, one could remove its 5th note to create a much less restrictive and stress-inducing sounding chord.
Once you have mastered basic chords, the next step should be expanding your repertoire. To do this, chord extensions may seem daunting at first; fortunately they’re easier than they appear! A good way to master these is finding a sheet music book with simple chord progressions and practicing until they come easily – some great options include Alfred’s Teach Yourself Chords & Progressions at the Keyboard or Hal Leonard’s Christmas Songs with 3 Chords Super Easy Songbook for this purpose.
Inversions
Inversions are an extremely useful feature of piano chords that allow for smoother and quicker transitions between chords, as well as adding subtle variations to each one. When used, they add slight variations that add subtle flair. Their use will depend on your chosen style/vibe and whether or not it finds pleasure to your ears (ie it comes down to personal taste).
To create an inverted chord, take all of the same notes from an original chord but switch their order so that one note other than bass is at the top. For instance, taking a C Major chord could easily become C Minor by switching its middle and top notes around; this would look something like this:
These chords may appear differently when written on sheet music or keyboard, but they always contain either C Major or C Minor chords with one note in their bass position. Learning inversions quickly is a great way to become more intuitive when playing piano as well as identify chords when reading sheet music or performing with other musicians.
Not only can inversions help create unique piano chords and progressions, but there are a host of other tools and methods you can employ to craft original musical phrases. One technique for doing so is called sus chords which involve suspending certain middle tones from triads while replacing them with the second or fourth note from that position instead. You could also add whole tones onto existing triads to form Cmaj9 or Cadd9 chords.
Chord inversions are relatively straightforward once you have an understanding of triads. Just practice until it becomes second-nature and experiment with different variations until finding one that suits both your ear and style.
As you continue practicing these variations, more options will open up for creating fresh chords. Do this regularly and you’ll soon become an accomplished pianist!