usical pieces often include chords to fill out the sound of the music. This chapter introduces you to the chords you will most ‘commonly find in piano music, including major, minor, 7th, diminished and suspended chords. You will also learn how to change the order of the notes in chords to change between chords more. ly when playing a piece.In this Chapter... Playing Major Chords Playing Minor Chords Playing Dominant 7th Chords Playing Major 7th Chords Playing Minor 7th Chords Playing 6th Chords Playing 9th Chords Playing Augmented Chords Playing Diminished Chords Playing Suspended Chords Playing Broken Chords Playing Arpeggios Playing Three-Note Chord Inversions Playing Four-Note Chord Inversions Changing Chords “We Three Kings” “Largo” “Prelude in C Major” “Down to the Wire” “Toreador Song" “Mellowing Out”Baving, Gioy chords Major chords are the most commonly used chords in music and produce uplifting, happy sounds. Major chords are usually written as a capital letter name, such as C, or as a capital letter name followed by M ‘or maj, such as CM or Cmaj. ‘A major chord consists of three notes—the first (root), third and fifth notes of a major scale. A major scale is a group of related notes arranged in order of pitch. To play a major chord, start with the first note of the cchord’s major scale and then add the third and fifth notes from the same scale. For example, to play the C major chord, you play the first (©), third (E) and fith (G) notes from the C major scale together. The name Of the major chord is the same as the letter name of the lowest note in the chord. The notes of a major chord appear in many locations ‘on the keyboard. Where you play a chord depends (on how high or low you want the chord to sound. You usually use your pinky finger, middle finger and thumb to play major chords. When using your left hand, your pinky finger plays the root note. When using your right hand, your thumb plays the root note. Understanding Major Chords Excerpt from “ve Been Working on the Railroad” C Major Scale (C Major Chord © A major chord consists © Major chords are (of three notes that you ‘usually written as play at the same time to aletter name, such produce a happy sound. as, oraletter ‘name followed by Mor maj, such as CM oF Ca © Inwritten musi, a ‘major chord is usually indicated as three notes stacked on top of each ther on the staff. = A major chord ‘consists of the first Nota: A scale sores of notes that you play inspect (F008, third and fifth ‘oer For more information on meas major scales, se page 9, scale. «* For example, the C major chord consists of the first (©, third (E and fifth (G) notes of the C major scale. 124You can start on the € major chord and then, Keeping your fingers inthe same formation, move al of your fingers up the keyboard, a half step ata time. The frst half step is the Db major chord, followed by the D major chord, and so on. This exercise lets you see that the distances between each of the notes in all of the major chords are exactly the same How can I practice playing major chords? CHAPTER 5: Playing Chords Why do I need to know the notes that make up each chord? In some written music, you are only provided with the name of the chord and not given the actual notes to play. In these instances, the name of the ‘chord the composer wants you to play ‘often appears above the treble clef. In ‘order to play the music, you need to know how to find the notes that make up each chord. It is a good idea to practice your chords often. Play a Major Chord With Your Right Hand Play a Major Chord With Your Left Hand 2 Rest your middle finger onthe key forthe middle note of the chord * You can play a major chord at any location on the keyboard, Since the notes that make up ‘a chord can be found in many locations. Where you play a chord depends on the sound you want o produce. note ofthe chord 1 To play a major chord with your right hand, rest your thumb on the key forthe first root) note ofthe chord you want to play. 4 Press down on all three keys at the same time to play the chord. “© When your right hand 3 Rest your pinky finger 6 the key for the top 2 Rest your middle finger onthe key forthe middle note of the chord is playing a melody, you can play major chords with your left hand to provide accompaniment. 3 est your thumb on the key for the top note of the chord, To play a major chord with your left hand, est your pinky finger on the 4 key for the first (root) note of the chord you want to play. Press down on all three keys at the same time to play the chord, 125Boving, ior chords C Major Chord i ajor Chord Also known as CtMajor ChordF§ Major Chord Also known as Gs Major Chord ‘As Major Chord, B} Major Chord CHAPTER 5: Playing Chords MA G Major Chord ‘A Major Chord HE B Major Chord 127BOVING, nor chords Minor chords are characterized by the dark, sad sounds they produce. To differentiate minor chords from major chords, minor chords are labelled with “m" or “min” beside their letter name, such as Em or Emin. ‘A minor chord consists of three notes—the first, third and fifth notes of a minor scale. A minor scale is a series of related notes arranged in order of pitch. For information on minor scales, see page 94. ‘To play a minor chord, start with the root (first) note of the chord’s minor scale and then add the third and fifth notes from the same scale. For example, to play the A minor chord, you play the first (A), third (C) and fifth (E) notes from the A minor scale together. The notes of a minor chord can be found in many locations on the keyboard. Where you play a chord depends on how high or low you want the chord to sound You usually use your pinky, middle finger and thumb to play minor chords. When using your left hand, the pinky finger plays the root note. When using your right hand, the thumb plays the root note, Understanding Minor Chords Excerpt from “Go Down Moses” AMinor Seale A Minor Chord © Aminor chord consists (of three notes that you ‘© Minor chords are usually labelled with play atthe same time to an “m” or “min” produce a sad sound. beside their letter © In.written music, a minor ary Se os Oo cor Amin, chord is usually indicated as three notes stacked on top of each other on the staff ‘© Aminor chord consists Of the first (root), thied and fifth notes of a ‘minor scale. Note: scale isa series f nates that you playin «2 specific ode For more information on mina scales, see page 94 © For example, the A minor ‘chord (Am) consists of the first (A), third (C) and fith (€) notes of ‘the A minor scale, 128Is there another way to figure out the notes of a minor chord? Ifyou compare a major and minor chord Of the same letter name, only one note is. different between the chords. In a minor cchord, the middle note is @ haf step lower than the middle note in the corresponding major chord. You can play a minor chord by playing the corresponding major chord, but lower the middle note by one half step. For ‘example, the C major chord uses the C, E and G notes, so to make the C minor chord, lower the middle note (E) by one half step (E> . The C minor chord uses notes C, Fy and G. CHAPTER 5: Playing Chords How can | tell the difference between a minor and a major chord? To hear the difference between a minor chord, such as Em, and a major chord, such as E, you can play the chords back to back. To play the E major chord, press the E, Gé and B keys together. To play the E minor chord, press the F, G, and B keys together. For more information on playing major chords, see page 124. Play a Minor Chord With Your Right Hand Play a Minor Chord With Your Left Hand ‘© You can play a minor chord at 2 Rest your middle any location on the keyboard, finger on the key since the notes that make up for te middle a chord can be found in many note ofthe chor. locations. Where you play a Be chord depends on how high finger onthe Key or low you want the chord to eo sound of the chord. || To play a minor chord with your 4 pres all thre keys right hand, rest your thumb on amen the key for the frst (oo! note of the chord you want to pla. at the same time to play the chord. ‘your pinky finger on the key for the first (root) rote of the chord you want to play. © When your right hand 2. est your middle is playing a melody, you finger on the key can play minor chords for the middle note with your let hand to ofthe chord provide accompaniment Blretae nen 1 To playa minor chord the key for the top with your lft hand, rest note ofthe chord 4 Press all three keys at the same time to play the chord 129