There are so many methods of learning the piano out there with so many variations. Learning the chords in the piano has become something you may have heard about as it has become more and more of a hot topic.
But why learn piano chords? Learning the chords while playing the piano is important because it helps in understanding the “why” and the “how” of the music. When you understand piano chords and why and where they are placed, it helps you in sight reading, in composing music, in improvisation, and in playing on the keyboard right away.
Some people consider learning chords the “shortcut” of learning piano. Here’s why.
Why learn piano chords
Chords are the nuts and bolts of piano. All music is based off of and stems from the use of chords (and scales too — but we won’t cover that here). Every piece of music can be broken down into chords, whether they are blocked or broken. Blocked chords are played at once, broken are played one by one consecutively.
Because chords make up the basis of piano, knowing chords can help you in sight reading, composing, improvisation, and in playing on the keyboard right away.
Learning chords helps you to sight read:
Seeing music as chords takes out a lot of the mystery and gives a student a step up in understanding, and therefore predicting music.
Because you can see what it is, you will begin to notice patterns in chording. Chords often have a predictable pattern, especially in modern pop music. You will often find the pattern of I, IV, and V. We will talk more about those patterns later.
The point is, the more that you can predict the music, the easier it is to sight read. You will begin to know what’s coming next as you identify it. Instead of seeing an assortment of random notes, you are seeing an organized pattern that becomes easier for your brain to organize, and thus, easier to play.
Learning chords helps you to compose:
Because you understand the nuts and bolts of the music, you can now build your own! You have the pieces of music, now put them together however you wish to make your music!
Some people don’t need to know the basics of music and they just “have it”. For whatever reason, they just see it, and get it without having to study the what and the why.
But the rest of us need to get to that point. Composing music can be done by just about anybody if they are willing to learn the chords, then place them together and different patterns until they have created their own piece of music.
It helps to understand more about the patterns of the chords as you begin composing. The patterns will help you get started. More on that later.
Learning chords helps you to improvise.
Learning chords in piano will help you to improvise. I use this on my students almost right away. I play a simple chord pattern in the left hand, usually a I, IV, and V, then let them come up with what they want in the right hand.
Playing around with the chords, and playing by ear, one can certainly gain the skill of improvisation. Chording in the left hand while playing in the right will get you off to the right start.
Learning chords can help you play right away:
Learning the piano is a brain exercise. Everything you first learn on the piano needs to be learned, understood, then organized in the brain so that the actions can occur. The fingers play what the brain knows.
So as you learn chords, instead of learning separate notes, you can learn one thing – a chord. This chord is only one thing to memorize instead of multiple notes.
In that regard, it can give you a bit of a “shortcut” when you are first learning the piano. Once you learn the chords, you can play just about anything. You may not be able to play the melody just yet, but you can play and sing along.
The other individual notes can, and should be learned as well. But even if you just know a few basic chords, you can play quite a few songs and get going right away.
What chords should I learn?
The best answer to what chords you should learn would be all of them! 🙂 But since you may just be getting started, then I would suggest starting with the most basic chords.
The most basic chords that you will find most often are these 14 common major and minor chords: C, Cm, D, Dm, E, Em, F, Fm, G, Gm, A, Am, Bb, and Bbm.
You will find these major and minor chord charts and downloadable flashcards if you click on the link.
As you study these chords, you will notice that major and minor chords only differ by one key – the middle note is lowered half a step.
Another quick hint if you are learning these chords for the first time, is to realize that all chords are found very simply. Each major chord has a pattern of 4 half steps, then 3 half steps. Minor chords are the opposite, with 3 half steps, and then 4 half steps.
You can see that learning these chords really aren’t too difficult, which is why some consider chording a “shortcut” to learning piano.
Chording Patterns
Once you know the basic chords, then it is helpful to know the patterns! The most common pattern that you will find in the majority of songs, especially pop songs, is the I, IV, V pattern. For C major, that would be the C chord, the F chord, and the G chord.
Another common pattern you will find is the I, vi, IV, V patterns. For C major, this would be C, Am, F, and G.
For a great image of common chord progressions, check out this image on piano-keyboard-guide.com. Just scroll down to the image titled, “Common Chord Progressions”. You will see that you can play just about any of these progressions knowing those basic 14 chords we already discussed.
Why you need to learn more than just chords
I have said quite a bit about how beneficial it is to learn chords, but one word of caution needs to be said. If you only learn chords and don’t go beyond that, then let me state the obvious. You won’t learn more than that!
It would be so sad to not learn just a little bit more and go on to learn each of the notes well on their own as well. It is a great tool to learn and one that should be used appropriately. Just don’t let it stunt your growth as you should learn more than just the chords!
As I am sure you are already aware, you don’t have to learn the chords to play piano. You can definitely learn the piano without all this theory knowledge. But I would strongly suggest learning the chords for all these benefits we have discussed.
Being able to understand the what and the why behind music opens up a world of understanding that becomes so beneficial in the world of music! It is a tool that can be used time and time again.
Related Questions:
Is it better to learn chords or notes? You will want to learn both eventually. Beginning with the basic major and minor chords can be easier to learn since there is less to memorize. Once you have chords memorized, learning the notes becomes easier. The same could be said of learning the notes because as you learn the notes, the chords become easier to memorize.
Related Articles:
Major and Minor Chord Flashcards
How Hard Is It to Learn Piano?
Major & Minor Chord Snakes & Ladders Game
Tel loves her life as a piano player, a piano teacher, and a mom. Amid piano blogging, piano teaching, and piano playing, she loves a chance to fit in a good exercise class, volunteer at her kids’ school and at her church, and go on long dates with her husband. Full bio at About Tel.
