If we count the keys that follow after the root note C all the way to the E, we get to the number 4, because we have C♯, D, D♯ and E. The C-major chord consists of the three notes C, E, and G.
It definitively helps if you already know how to build scales.īut let’s have a look and see how the C-major chord is structured and then apply the knowledge onto all the other chords. The root note is the bottom note of the chord, so in a C-major chord, note C will be the root note and the whole chord is built upon that note. So when it comes to how to learn piano chords fast, memorizing these would be your best bet.īut now let’s have a look at the second method of learning these chords! METHOD 2: Learning Chords By Applying The Theory Behind Itįor this method, we will have to take a look at how chords are actually built, so we don’t have to memorize them and instead can just build them based on our root note. This is already sufficient to play almost 95% of pop songs. If you learn the 12 major chords (or the 12 minor chords) you are ready to play 24 different chords, all in their basic structure, containing 3 notes each. And whenever you see a ♭, it is pronounced ‘flat’. Regarding the pronunciation of ♯ and ♭, whenever you see a ♯ symbol behind a letter it is pronounced ‘sharp’. Minor chords, on the contrary, are usually named like Cm (for C-minor). In sheet music, a chord symbol for C-major might be written as simply C or C-major. In this case, the middle note E goes down a so-called “half step” to the note E♭, which is the black key to the left of the note E. If you now look at the C-minor chord at the right, you will notice that the note in the middle is exactly one key lower placed than in its major version. In the image above you can see in the top left corner the C-major chord. Let’s have a look at it together: C-MAJOR That’s how you get the minor version of that particular chord. If you memorize all major chords, then you can get to the minor chords by just playing the middle note one key lower. The reason for this is simple: The only difference between the two is the note in the middle! So why do you only need to learn either minor or major? lower the more up and down you go on the keyboard). There are 88 keys on the piano but to learn chords we only need to look at 12 keys that are in an octave since these 12 keys just repeat multiple times (and sound higher resp. There are in total 24 different chords but you’ll only need to memorize 12 of them, either the major or the minor version:Ībove you see the keys that you need to play colorized.
This method is the easier one as it doesn’t require you to actually learn any theory but just hand and finger positions on the keyboard so you can follow the chord symbols on sheet music. Let’s go over both of them so you will know exactly how to learn the chords with either approach! Method 1: Memorizing
The former will be your choice if you are A) very good at memorizing your hand position on keys and B) just want to learn the basic chords that you need to play songs as quick as possible.īoth approaches can deliver the same result if you keep learning and memorizing the chords and their structure. The latter one will be more important if your goal is to not only learn some chords as fast as possible but actually want to learn how chords are built so you can start building them on any given note.