The Chords C, F and G

English: Major chord in root, first and second inversion. Category:Music images sr:Слика:Major chord root and inversions.PNG Category:Monochrome images (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The first thing you will need to know to start playing the keyboard is some chords.
There are many different types of chords, the most common being the major chord.
All major chords contain three notes, taken from the major scale of the same letter name.
These three notes are the 1 (first), 3 (third) and 5 (fifth) notes of the major scale, so the chord 
formula for the major chord is: 1 3 5

The C Major Chord

The C major chord is constructed from the C major scale. Using the above chord formula on the
C major scale, you can see that the C major chord contains the notes C, E and G.

C Major Scale

C  D  E  F  G  A  B  C
1   2   3  4   5   6   7   8
C       E      G

The chord symbol for a major chord is just the letter name of the chord. Ex., the chord symbol
for the C major chord is C. It is common to practice to refer to a C major chord as the C chord.
This abbreviation applies to all major chords.

Play the three notes of the C chord with the first, third and fifth fingers of your right hand, individually, and then together as shown below.

                                                 G
 C  E  G = Arpeggio                 E  = C Chord (Blocked or Solid Chord), played at the same time.
1   3  5  = Fingering                  C


When playing a chord one note at a time it is referred to as arpeggio.

The first note from the major scale (and hence the first note of the major chord) is called the
root note. When playing chords with the right hand, the left hand often plays the root note.

Example using broken and solid C chords in the right hand with single bass note, C in l.h.:

C/ C, E, G, E

C/ CEG,  C/ CEG

C/ C, E, G, E

C/ CEG

Chord shapes can be illustrated by using chord diagrams.

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

The G Major Chord

The G major chord is constructed from the G major scale. Using the major chord formula
on the G major scale below, it can be seen that the G chord contains the notes G, B and D.


G Major Scale

G  A  B  C   D  E  F#  G
1   2    3   4   5  6   7    8
G        B        D

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Play the three notes of the G chord with the first, third, and fifth fingers of your right hand,
individually, and then together as shown in the following example.

G Bass note-l.h. G/GBD - right hand (fingering 1-3-5)

Once you are confident you know the G chord, practice changing between G and C.

G/GBD  G/GBD

G/G,B,D,B

C/ CEG  C/CEG

C/C,E,G,E

G/GBD

G/G,B,D,B,G

C/CEG  C/CEG

C/C,E,G,E,C

The F Major Chord

The F major chord is constructed from the F major scale. Using the major chord formula on
the F major scale below, it can be seen that the F chord contains the notes F, A and C.

F Major Scale

F  G  A  Bb  C  D  E  F
1  2   3   4     5   6  7   8
F       A         C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Db Eb Gb Ab Bb C D E F G A B C

Play the three notes of the F chord with the first, third, and fifth fingers of your right hand,
individually, and then together as shown in the example below.

F/FAC

Once you are comfortable with the F chord, try combining it with G and C.

F/F,A,C,A

F/FAC

C/C,E,G,E

C/CEG

G/G,B,D,B,G

F/F,A,C,A,F

C/C,E,G,E,C,E,G,E

C/CEG

I hope this helps for the beginner piano players to find their way around some basic piano chords.
If your interested in learning more, visit Chords.






"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

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