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Understanding Piano Chords
Nothing brings pieces of music together quite like chords. They create the connection between notes and make up the structure of most music we know and love.
To understand how chords work and function, it helps to have a grasp of a couple of key concepts. In the sections below, we’ll introduce those ideas and help you explore chords on the piano. You’ll find the answers to the following questions:
What is a chord?
How do you build and play chords on piano?
How do chords function in music?
What are chord progressions?
What kind of chords exist?
The best way to learn about piano chords is by playing. If you have a piano, we encourage you to read and explore the instrument at the same time.
Ever wondered how to play a C major chord? Or maybe an F♯ minor? Beyond explaining the theory behind chords, you’ll also find a guide to playing every major and minor chord on the piano. We’ll guide you step-by-step so you can learn to build and play the chords yourself.
As it’s a very good place to start, we’ll start at the very beginning. What’s a chord? Read below and let’s start putting the notes together.
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What is a chord?
Chords are notes played together at the same time. They create harmony between the pitches of the played notes.
In their simplest form, two notes can make a chord. For most cases on the piano, however, chords you learn about generally have at least three notes. Chords with three notes are called triads. These triads can be broken down into four categories:
Major
Augmented
Diminished
Each chord features a root note, which you’ll recognize by the note featured in its name. The root of C major is C. The root of A minor is A. The root of F major? You guessed it, F.
Triads are recognized by the third and the fifth notes from the root. For example, if your root is C, the third and fifth from the root would be E and G. The interval of the third and fifth note you play determines the kind of triad you’ll hear.
Minor and major chords each feature the same fifth, but differ with the third that’s played. For example, C major and C minor both have G as the fifth, but C major uses E as the third whereas C minor uses E♭.
Augmented chords feature the same third note as a major chord, but bring the fifth note up a half step. For C augmented, you’d use the following notes: C, E, G♯.
Diminished chords feature the same third note as a minor chord, but bring the fifth note down a half step. For C diminished, you’d use the following notes: C, E♭, G♭.
You can find more information about major, minor, augmented, and diminished chords below.
Perhaps most importantly, these different kinds of triads create different tonalities and feelings. When multiple chords are put together, each chord plays a different role within the context of a larger piece of music.
How do you learn piano chords?
Learning to play piano chords begins with exploring the instrument. Press multiple keys down at the same time and listen to how they sound when played together.
In some instances the sound will be pleasant. Other times, the sound may be dissonant. What you’re doing in this moment is creating different harmonies.
In theory, learning piano chords starts with understanding intervals. Intervals represent a difference in pitch between two notes.
For example, if you play the note C on a piano, the black key to the right, C♯, is considered a half step up. The next white key to the right, D, is considered a whole step up from C.
These steps in certain sequences start to make up scales. For example, a major scale starting with C (all of the white keys) would follow this sequence:
Start at C