Introduction to Chord Piano

This article may contain compensated links. Please read the disclosure for more info.

What is chord piano?

Chord Piano is playing the piano in what we call the style of "comping" or "faking" chords, played either with a melody or by playing only chords (or harmonies).

Playing chords is a handy skill to have and a fun way to play the piano. It's quick to learn too! :)

Beginners can simply play the melody in one hand, usually the right hand, and play a selected few 3-note chords or triads in your left hand to "match" with the melody.

The technique of chord piano can be as simple as this, up to any possible skill level.

Playing Basic Chords

Playing chord piano is a useful skill to have and a fun way to play the piano.

Play a 3 Note Chord in Root Position with Your Right Hand

C major Triad in Root Position

Playing triads, or 3-note chords in root position is easy! Try this:

• Place all your right-hand fingers on any white keys next to each other. Finger one on your right hand- the thumb- is on the root (which is why it's called "Root Position"), finger three on the third, and finger five is on the fifth.
• Play the three notes together- congratulations! You just played a chord!
• Practice playing chords (triads) like this all over the piano, starting from any white key.

How to Play Chord piano

Two main ways to play chords on the piano

1. Either you can play a melody together with chords. 

Usually, this is done by playing the melody in your right hand and the chords in your left. As you improve your playing, you may sometimes let the melody switch hands and play a part of the chord in both hands.

2. The other way is to play only the chords or the harmonies. 

Then you can either sing the melody or accompany another instrument that plays the melody. If you just started learning piano chords, it's easiest to play the chords in your right hand and play the bass note of the chord in your left hand.

The great thing about chord playing is that it can be as simple or sophisticated as you want or have the skills to. But from the very first start, it is still going to sound fine!

Go to this page with a free piano chords chart, read more about how to play chords, and start practicing right now!

chord piano lessons

If you would like to learn more, you can continue with these chord piano lessons for beginners:

• Learn Piano chords An introduction to how to play piano chords.

• Basic Piano Chords Learn how a chord is built and common ways chords are written in a score.

• Easy Piano Chords for Improvisation Learn more about the primary chords and how to use them in improvisation.

• What are Chord Inversions? This chord piano lesson continues here, with more about chords and how you can "turn them around" for smoother transitions! 

• Piano Chord Inversions Learn how to play all major and minor chords and their inversions! You can also print out free Piano Chords Inversions Charts (PDF).

• Common Chord Progressions Learn ways to combine chords to create well-known accompaniment styles or use the chord progressions as foundations for improvisation. Fun!

• Roman Numerals Chords Another pesky way to write chords? It's easy, and actually rather useful!

• Printable Piano Chords Chart (PDF)For your convenience, you can print out this free chart (PDF) for easy reference of the most common piano chords in the "root" position.

• Piano Key Notes and Chord Finder (PDF) Print out (PDF) and place it behind the piano keys! This is an easy way to learn the note names on the piano keys, including some basic chords.

ShareFacebookTwitterPinterestReddit

FacebookTwitterPinterestReddit