Practice Five-Finger Patterns

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

 I'm a firm believer in stretching before I do any work out exercises. The same is true with practicing the piano each day. Reach for Hanon 1 Finger Exercises or do these Five-Finger Patterns. I will be starting lessons right after Labor Day and will be handing out the following exercises for practice.

C Major

Starting with the above keys, play this five-finger scale with all five fingers. Start at C and play to G, then return to C. Do this one hand at a time. Then play the finger scale, slow and steady,  with both hands at the same time.

C Maj Broken Chords (Arpeggios)

Play notes C_E_G Play hands over hand, four octaves up and back, beginning with the left hand.

C Maj Block Chords

Play the notes C, E, and G together at the same time. Play firmly up and back 3 octaves.

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

G Major

Start at G and play to D, then return to G. Play with both hands at the same time.

G Maj Arpeggios

Play G_B_D notes with hand over hand, 3 octaves up and back.

G Maj Block Chords

Play the notes G, B, D together in both hands, 3 octaves up and back.

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

F Maj

Play from F up to C and then back again. (F_G_A_Bb_C) Same procedure as above.

F Maj Arpeggios

Play notes, F_A_C one at a time

F Maj Block Chords

Play these notes at the same time in both hands, F_A_C

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

D Major

Start at D and play to A, then return to D. Play with curved fingers and try using both hands.

D Maj Arpeggios

Play the keys, D_F#_A one at a time, using both hands. Play 3 octaves up and back.

D Maj Block Chords

Play the notes D-F#-A at the same time in both hands, up and back solidly.

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

 A Major

Play all five notes, A_B_C#_D_E with all five fingers in both hands.

A Maj Arpeggios

Play A, C#, E with hand over hand, 3 octaves up and back

A Maj Block Chords

Press down A_C#_E in both hands, moving up and down the keyboard.

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

 E Major

Start at E and play to B, then go back to E, using all five fingers.

E Maj Arpeggios

Play the notes E_G#_B one at a time. Roll those broken chords so they sound like a harp.

E Maj Block Chords

Play E, G#, B together in both hands. Practice chords for church music, along with rock and roll.

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

 B Major

Start at B and play to F#, using all five fingers, then descend to B where you started from.

B Maj Arpeggio Chords

Play these piano notes, B_D#_F#, hand over hand.

B Maj Block Chords

Play B, D#, F# simultaneously.

Have fun strengthening your fingers and building muscles. Keep your hands limbered.

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

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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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One Octave Minor Arpeggios

Image via Wikipedia

Winter Sonata

One of my musician friends has a good ear and guessed what key I was playing in! Are you familiar with Opening Theme-Winter Sonata? It is the main theme for a popular Korean Drama Series, Winter Sonata.


Here's the song on YouTube



So, what are arpeggios (broken chords) and how do I practice them?

In music, an arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously. This word comes from the Italian word "arpeggiare" , which means "to play on a harp."


First, I would use the correct fingering for both hands so the music would flow.


Sometimes the R.H. Fingering uses 1-2-3-5


Then the L.H. Fingering plays 5-3-2-1

But not always...


Here are some Practice Tips for One Octave Minor Arpeggios:
(Playing one note at a time with correct fingering.)


1. A Minor = A-C-E-A
   right hand  1-2-3-5
   left hand     5-3-2-1


2. E Minor = E-G-B-E
    right hand 1-2-3-5
    left hand   5-3-2-1


3. B Minor = B-D-F#-B
    right hand 1-2-3-5
    left hand   5-3-2-1


4. F# Minor = F#-A-C#-F#
    right hand  2-1-2-4
    left hand    2-1-4-2


5. C# Minor = C#-E-G#-C#
    right hand   2-1-2-4
    left hand     2-1-4-2


6. G# Minor = G#-B-D#-G#
    right hand    2-1-2-4
    left hand      2-1-4-2


7. D# Minor = D#-F#-A#-D#
    left hand      1-2-3-5
    right hand    5-4-2-1


8. A# Minor = A#-C#-F-A#
    right hand    2-3-1-2
    left hand       3-2-1-3 


9. D Minor = D-F-A-D
    right hand   1-2-3-5
    left hand     5-3-2-1


10. G Minor = G-Bb-D-G
      right hand 1-2-3-5
      left hand 5-3-2-1


11. C Minor = C-Eb-G-C
      right hand 1-2-3-5
      left hand   5-3-2-1


12. F Minor = F-Ab-C-F
      right hand 1-2-3-1
      left hand   5-3-2-1


 A great tool for finger practice is Hanon 1 - Finger Exercises





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

Part Two: Intros with Arpeggios

Not familiar with broken chords? The definition for piano arpeggios can be found here answers.com

 In music, an arpeggio is Italian for broken chord where the notes are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously. This word comes from the Italian word "arpeggiare" , which means "to play on a harp". These are formed from scales, the arpeggio is based on the relative scale playing the "key" notes or those affected by the key signature.

 This arpeggio passage progresses from G to G7, Am, D7, G, Em, and D7 before resolving to G in the following melody. (The first D7 could be F#dim.)
It is one of the easiest for beginning pianists to learn, because beginning with the F of the G7 broken chord each group of six notes simply begins on the next lowest note in the scale.

* Arpeggios


1. Straight hand-over-hand arpeggios.

This method works best with chords of four notes or less.


2. Split arpeggios.


This works best with the more complicated five-note chords.
Left hand plays root. Hold sustain pedal. Right and left hands play remaining notes of the chord
hand-over-hand in a repeating arpeggio.


* Here are some examples:


G9 = Low G (l.h. and pedal) + Bm7(b5) arpeggio B D F A (right and left hand-over-hand).


G7b9 = Low G (l.h. w/pedal) + Bdim7 arpeggio B D F Ab  (right and left hand-over-hand).


Sometimes inverting chords leads to a more comfortable fingering. Here's a more practical way of playing the above example:


G7b9 = Low G (l.h. w/pedal) + Bdim7 arpeggio D F Ab B (right and left hand-over-hand).


Use this pattern with any variation of the dominant chord. Try these in a few other keys.

Related Resources:

Walking bass lines with arpeggios

Piano practice with arpeggios

Piano Hand Coordination

Let me know how your piano practice with arpeggios progresses. Broken chords can be played as an intro to set up a song or definitely close out a song. Yes it's true, synthesizers have their own built in arpeggiators! lol

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I hope you enjoy your stay at LadyD Piano.