How To Learn All the Major Piano Chords in 10 Minutes Or Less!

Hi, this is Duane and in the next 10 minutes, I am going to teach you to play all the major piano chords. There’s just 12 major chords and we’re going to learn all of them. Now the reason there’s only 12 major chords is there’s only 12 different notes. Watch: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. If we go up one above that, that’s the same note as that one, it’s just an octave higher. So, if the piano is set up so that there is like, seven octaves on the keyboard, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and if we just learn one octave, then we’ve learned it all. So there’s 12 notes and on each of those notes, we can build a chord. Now, a major chord is made out of the root, a third and fifth of a major scale. Let’s look at what a scale is. A scale comes from the Latin word la scala, which means, the ladder. It’s a ladder of note that runs from one C up to the next C. Here’s the C scale. See, it has 8 notes. octave, octavo, octopus. That’s the C scale. If we take the root, the bottom note, the third, 1, 2, 3 and the fifth, 1,2,3,4,5 and play them as a unit all at once, that’s called the C major chord. That’s the major chord, for the key of C.

Now that’s easy to see on C, isn’t it, because it’s all white keys. But it’s not as easy to see on the other keys, because there’s some black keys intermingled. So let me explain to you that a major scale is always formed out of a whole step, a whole step, and then a half step, followed by a whole step, whole step, whole step and half step. What’s a whole step? It always has a key in between. That’s a whole step because there’s a note you can play in between it. That’s a whole step because there’s a note you can play in between it. That’s not a half step because there’s no note in there between those two notes. So that’s a half step. That’s a whole step isn’t it, because there’s a note in between. That’s a whole step because there’s a note in between. That’s a whole step because there’s a note in between and that’s a half step. So the formula for a major scale, and this applies to all major scales and all time, so once you know this, you’ll know it for life, is whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. In other words, two whole steps, then a half step, three whole steps, and then a half step. Okay? That’s the formula for a major scale. Whole, whole, half, whole, whole, half. The same coming down. Incidentally, we’re not talking about fingering here, but I’ll just show you, I only have 5 fingers, obviously, and there’s 8 notes. I can only use 3 fingers and then I must cross my thumb under, to get up to the top note. Why, because 3 and 5 make 8, right? That’s the logic of fingering. All right. That’s the formula for a major scale. We know what it is on C, but it’s not so obvious on other keys. For example, if I start on D flat, I have to go up a whole step, which is E flat, and then another whole step, which is F, and then a half step, which is G flat, whole step which is A flat, whole step which is B flat, whole step which is C, and a half step is on D flat. So the major scale for the key of D flat is D flat, E flat, F, G flat, A flat, B flat, C and D flat. If I take the root, the bottom note, the third, 1,2 3, and the fifth, 1,2,3 ,4 ,5, I have the D flat major chord. That’s the major chord for the key of D flat. Now I’m going to make it easy for you though. I’m going to teach you the three major chords that are all white. They are C, F, and G. All you need to do is memorize those, the three chords that are all white, the three major chords that are all white are the C chord, the F chord, and the G chord. So now you know one fourth of all the major chords. There’s only 12 major chords. You know 3 of them, C, F and G.

Then 3 of the major chords have a black key in the middle. They are D, E, and A. Say that with me, D, E and A. What’s unique about them? They have a black key in the middle. D, E, and A. They all have a black key in the middle. Now you know half of all the 12 major chords. You know the three major chords that are all white, C, F and G. You know the three major chords that have a black middle note, D, E and A.

Now remember that D, E and A, because now we’re going to play the flat versions of them. We’re going to play D flat, E flat, and A flat. I want you to notice something about them. It’s the same there letters D, E and except they’re the flats, D flat, E flat and A flat. Instead of being white on the outside and black on the inside, they’re just the opposite. They’re black on the outside with a white on the inside. They’re kind of like Oreo cookies. There’s a D flat Oreo cookie because it’s black on the outside, white on the inside, E flat Oreo cookie, because it’s black on the outside, white on the inside, an A flat, again black on the outside, white on the inside.

Now you know three fourths of the major chords already. What were the first three that were all white? C, F, and G. What were the three that have a black note on the inside? D flat, E flat and A flat. Now D, E and A have cousins called D flat, which are like Oreo cookies, E flat and A flat. That’s 9 out of the 12. We only have 3 left. Let’s learn those 9 a little better though. Which are all white? C, F and G. Which have a black third? D, E, and A. Which have a white third with black on the outside? D flat, E flat, A flat.

Now you at home, what you should do is play those rapidly, as rapidly as you can. Just play them over and over. C, F, G, D, E, A, D flat, E flat, A flat. C, F, G, D, E, A, D flat, E flat, A flat. Of course, you can do it with the left hand. C, F, G, remember this octave is just like that octave. So the same notes, D flat C, F, G, D, E, A, D flat, E flat, A flat. I can play them hands together, couldn’t I? C, F, G, D, E, A, D flat, E flat, A flat.

Now you know 9 out of the 12 major chords. There’s only 3 left and 1 is super easy because it’s all black. G flat. It’s all black. No white keys in it. So that’s real easy. That leaves 2, B, and B flat. B is white, black, black. B flat is black, white, white. They’re mirror images too. Black, white, I mean white, black, black is B. B flat is black, white, white. Now you know all 12 major chords. Let’s take them in order. C, F, and G were all white. D, E and A have a black third. D flat, E flat and A flat are black on the outside, white on the inside, like Oreo cookies. One chord is all black, G flat. Then there’s two that are mirror images, B, which is white, black, black and B flat, which is black, white, white.

Now I’m going to play them all, all 12 through slowly. C, F, G, D, E, A, D flat, E flat, A flat, G flat, B, B flat. I can do it on the left hand. C, F, G, D, E, A, D flat, E flat, A flat, G flat, B, B flat. I can play it hands together. I hope you will too. C, F, G, D, E, A, D flat, E flat, A flat, G flat, B, B flat. By the way, you can use the fingers that are most comfortable for you, but try to keep your fingers in a, kind of a curved, curved chute position, like a parachute came down and landed on the key. You don’t want to play with flat fingers. That makes it real slow, so you can play it faster if you keep your fingers curved. I like to use 1, 3 and 5, every other finger. There’s some that are a little more awkward like the B chord, you might want to use 1, 2 and 4. That’s fine. Whatever works, or 1, 3 and 5 is okay.

Now, a chord is a chord, so that means the C chord is a chord, whether I play it here, or there or down there. Or up here, or up there. In other words, I can play it all the way up and down the keyboard, couldn’t I? All the notes of the C chord are C, E and G and they’re repeated over and over again through those seven different octaves. The same thing is true of the D chord. You play it all over the place. Also, I can turn chords upside down. Watch the C chord. If I take the bottom note, C, and put it on the top, it’s still the C chord. It doesn’t change into some other chord. It’s like if I turn you and stood you on your head, you’d still be the same person. You wouldn’t change, you wouldn’t be a different person. You’d just be you upside down. So I can turn the chord upside down again, and play what’s called the second inversion. Every time I turn a chord upside down, it’s called an inversion. So that’s the root position of the C chord, the first inversion of the C chord, the second inversion of the C chord, and now we’re back to the root. So I could play root, first, second, root, first, second, root, first, second, root, first, second, till the cows come home. Then I could come back down couldn’t I? I could also break the chord up. Instead of playing it against the block, I could play broken chords which are called arpeggios. C, E, G, tuck my thumb under, C, E, G, tuck my thumb under, C, E, G, and then I can come down. G, E, C, roll my hand over, G, E, C, G, E, C, G, E, C. I could do that with 2 hands, couldn’t I? Or I could go like this. In other words, just for placing, there’s lots of things I could do. I could go. I could play both hands. That’s all the C chord. That’s the D chord and so on. I could play all the chords that way.

Now, once you know the major chords, you really have it made, because you know all 12 major chords. Then to play minor chords, diminished chords, or augmented chords, or sixth chords, or seventh chords, or major chords, or ninth chords, or eleventh chords, or thirteenth chords, it’s just a matter of adding one note, or changing one note. Or two notes at a time, sometimes. So it’s very, very simple, but the first step is to master all 12 chords. Let’s do it one more and then we’re done. C, F, G, those are the major chords that are all white. The major chords that have the black third are D, E, and A. The major chords that are like Oreo cookies, are D flat, E flat, and A flat. The major chord that’s all black is G flat, and then the two mirror images are B and B flat. Now you go to it, and play those chords over and over again. Use them in both hands, break them up, up and down the keyboards. Turn them upside down in inversions, do whatever you want to do. Get really well acquainted with those 12 chords. They’re the basis for all your future learning in chords. Thanks for being with me, and we’ll see you again soon. Bye bye for now.

Here is the video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GulmiMiVuG4
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