How to Learn Chords So You Can Use Them Freely
1. The Problem
When I first started learning the piano, I actually started by learning the keyboard, two similar but distinct instruments! I was 7 years old and I was already trying to learn the guitar and viola, so why not give myself more things to do and try to learn the keyboard as well.
The keyboard is very similar to learning the piano in many ways, it’s still the same black and white keys and the theory is largely the same. However, instead of reading two staves you read one stave which shows the melody with chords written above. Typically on the keyboard the piano is divided into two halves with two different sounds used for each half. The right hand plays the melody and the left hand plays chords, but when you play a chord you hear a backing beat along with lots of instruments that are playing the notes from that chord in various rhythms (depending on what style you selected on the keyboard beforehand).
This means that on the keyboard you only really need to learn simple chord shapes and they are always played in the left hand!
On the piano, however, things are a little more complicated. Firstly, you have to read two staves and the notes are more uniquely spread across the piano between both hands. This makes learning chords in a way that is useful much more difficult!
So many learners will learn the same chord shapes that we would learn for the keyboard but in the right hand instead…and then struggle to break away from these shapes and play chords in a more malleable way.
2. How Do You Fix This?
When I eventually did start to learn the piano (rather than the keyboard) at the age of 11, I did have an understanding of some of the different chord types and what those chords look like if you play them in normal route position in one hand. So, this isn’t actually a bad thing!
The problem is that this is only helpful with regard to understanding how the chords are made and finding notes from the chord that are near to each other on the piano. They aren’t as useful at provide you with the ability to utilise or recognise the chords freely across the piano.
So once you know what notes make up a chord, the key is to begin trying to think of the chord is the notes that make up the chord rather than as a shape itself.
Let’s take a C major chord for example. We can think of this chord as the shape (C E G with fingers 1, 3 and 5), or we can think of a C major chord as the name given to any combination of the notes C, E and G. This is a subtle but distinct difference. While thinking of the chord as a shape (C E G) locks you into one part of the piano and one hand now being out of service. Thinking of the chord as just the combination of three individual notes allows you to find this chord across the piano (e.g. G E G C E G C G).
However, to actually be able to do this, you have to practice seeing the chord in many different formats. So, I would suggest trying to find 4 different ways that you can play a single chord across the piano and remember these 4 different shapes or patterns. An example of this for a C major chord might be playing E and C in the left hand and G and C in the right hand.
Once you are very familiar with these 4 different shapes and can easily transfer from one to another. Then I would introduce a second chord that has the same white/black note shape on the piano. An example of this might be G major (G B D), F major (F A C) or D minor (D F A). All of these chords are also all white notes and therefore the same 4 shapes or patterns can be applied more easily.
3. Try This!
Here is an example of how you might be able to practice this:
Chord: C major
Shape 1: LH - C C | RH: C E G
Shape 2: LH - E C | RH: G C
Shape 3: LH - G E | RH: C G
Shape 4: LH - C G C | RH: E C E
Try to switch between each of these shapes on the piano thinking about how the notes are forming a C major chord.
Once comfortable with this, we can introduce the same shapes but with a D minor chord (D F A) instead:
Chord: D minor
Shape 1: LH - D D | RH: D F A
Shape 2: LH - F D | RH: A D
Shape 3: LH - A F | RH: D A
Shape 4: LH - D A D | RH: F D F
One you are able to move between the shapes/patterns with a D minor chord. Try switching between the different shapes for both a C major and D minor chord.
Once you are able to do this with several chords that include only white notes, you could try introducing a chord that has a black note in the middle of the chord. For example D major (D F# A) or G minor (G Bb D).
Being able to switch between several different patterns for the same chord allows you to break free from thinking of the chord as one particular structure on the piano and more as the notes themselves. This will help you recognise the chords much more easily in a piece of music as well as help you improvise and play songs on the piano in a more interesting way!
Matthew Cawood
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