February 5th, 2009 by Lisa | 9 Comments »

Chord Basics

Many students ask me how do I play “_” chord?

I believe in teaching students how to build any chord, then you don’t have to rely on anyone else telling you how to play a chord.

I am going to tell you how to make any major chord in it’s root position.  When I say root position, that means the notes of the chord is in it’s most basic position, and the first note of that chord will be the name of the chord.

So, let’s make a C chord.  A C chord starts with C.

Place your right hand thumb on C and place the rest of your fingers on the white keys so that there is one finger on each key.  Your pinky will end on G.

Now, since you have 5 fingers, and all 5 fingers are covering the 5 keys from C-G, you might think there are 5 keys starting from C and ending on G.

That is not correct.  If you count C as #1, which one is #2?  It’s not the next white key, it is the very next key, which is a black key.  The black key is #2.  #3 is a white key.  #4 is a black key.  #5 is a white key.  #6 is a white key. #7 is a black key and #8 is a white key.  #8 is where your pinky should be, on G.

So what does that have to do with chords?  Simple!  Once you know how many keys are between your 5 finger span you can make any chord.  A chord is 3 or more notes played at the same time.  So, to play a C chord, you will play C, (which is #1), then you will play key #5, then you will play key #8.  Play all three at the same time and you will have a Chord.

You can do that for any major chord.  If you want to play a G chord, start on G, find the 5th key, then find the 8th key.  (They will all be white).

Try a D chord.  One of the notes will be a black key.  Start with D, play the 5th key (black) and play the 8th key.

Try this easy formula when making any major chord!

Have fun! ~smile~