FROM PATTERNS TO CHORDS!

The major and minor five-finger patterns are useful for finding chords

What is a chord? It is simply three or more notes played at once. To our Western ears, chords built with intervals of 3rds sound great. The basics of chord building start with forming triads, or three-note/key chords. The chords for the patterns are played with every other key/note/finger (5-3-1 or 1-3-5). Visually on the keyboard this is pretty easy; visually on the staff, chords are easy to write and to see (line-note, line-note, line-note, or space-note, space-note, space-note); but technically, these chords are not easy to play. Be sure to work with one hand at a time.

G Major Blocked Chord

• The hand is over a G major five-finger pattern.
• Fingers 5-3-1 play the G major triad. Say the names of the keys in this triad, up and down: G-B-D-B-G.
• Since there are no black keys to play, keep the fingers slightly away from the black keys.

Chords are built up from a lower note, which is called the “root.” Choose a key, G for instance, and go up a 3rd to B, then up another 3rd to D. This last note is a 5th above the root. Go up another 3rd to F. This is a 7th above the root. A chord which has four different notes, a 3rd apart, is called a seventh chord.

You are not expected to play a seventh chord with one hand! If you want to hear the sound (and it’s a nice one), play two notes in each hand. Investigate the different sounds you can make with these seventh chords by playing on every key for one octave.

G Minor Blocked Chord

• The hand is over a G minor five-finger pattern.
• Fingers 1-3-5 play the G minor triad. Say the names of the keys in the chord, up and down: G-B_♭-D-B_♭-G.
• Since there is a black key, prepare the 3rd finger over the black key, then place the other fingers comfortably around it.
• Practice the chord as suggested—each finger alone, then two fingers in combination, then three fingers.

ZOOM

Chord patterns can be blocked (played simultaneously), or broken (played one note at a time). Listen to our National Anthem, which begins with a broken-chord passage. When a broken chord is extended to include the next chord up an octave (G-B-D, up to G-B-D), it is called an “arpegglo.” Try playing this chord hand over hand.

B Major Blocked Chord

• The wrists and arms are straight.
• The black-key-fingers, LH 1 and RH 5, are on the front edge of F^♯.
• This is not an easy chord position to play. Experiment with fingers 4-2-1 in the left hand, fingers 1-2-4 in the right hand.

BLOCKED & BROKEN TRIADS

These translate to other chording instruments—guitar, accordion, organ, ukulele, mandolin

In a melody, intervals of 2nds refer to scale-like passages. Intervals of 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, and 6ths refer to chord-like passages. Recognizing these chordal passages helps in the reading of music.

In the lower part of the keyboard (or in the upper part if the melody is in the low section), or on stringed instruments like guitar and ukulele, chords add an accompaniment to a melody. The chords can be blocked (or “solid”), or they can be broken (or “arpeggiated”).

You can play a G major chord in the left hand to accompany the tune, “Are You Sleeping.” The melody begins on G, goes up a 2nd, up a 2nd, down a 3rd. Then it repeats the pattern. Practice that portion of the tune, and when it is easy, accompany it with the G major chord; play it on the word, “Are.”

Chords

• Here is a simple tune using blocked and broken chord s in both hands
• Remember to name the first note in each hand; then read by intervals the rest of the way.

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Now choose one particular chord, get both hands ready on it, an octave apart, and play it broken from the lowest note to the highest note. End with both hands playing the chord blocked. Try this with all the major chords you can play; then change each chord to minor. On another day, press the damper pedal and play the arpeggio. It makes a full and rich sound!

You can play “Oh, When the Saints” on a major chord position. Let’s use C major for our example. The tune begins by playing C up to E, then F to G. The intervals are up a 3rd, up a 2nd, up a 2nd. Repeat this phrase. Play it again a third time, but extend the phrase by playing down the chord to C, back up to E, down a 2nd to D. Can you “pick out” the rest of the tune? You don’t have to move out of the five-finger pattern.

Oh, When the Saints

• I have written out “Oh, When the Saints.”
• I put chords in the left hand, in case you want to try it.
• A good workout for the left hand is to play the melody an octave or two lower.

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INTERVALS: 6THS

To make a simple accompaniment, play 5ths and 6ths

The easiest accompaniment for a melody (assuming it is a simple, rather short melody) is a blocked 5th. This means that you can play “Are You Sleeping” again, but the left hand plays only the outside keys of the G major chord. It is easier to play, and in some cases sounds better. With this pattern, the tune goes, G-A-B-G, G-A-B-G, B-C-D, B-C-D.

Play the tune on the C major five-finger pattern—it feels the same but sounds either higher or lower. (C-D-E-C, C-D-E-C, E-F-G, E-F-G). The outside 5th in the left hand includes the notes C up to G.

Right Hand Plays a 6th

• The only gap is between fingers 1 and 2.
• Play back and forth between the 5th and the 6th by moving only the thumb.
• Play the 5th changing to a 6th at least seven times, by moving fingers away from the thumb.

You can make the accompaniment more interesting by moving to the interval of a 6th. This involves moving the thumb up a whole step, or the fingers away from the thumb. Stay in the C major five-finger pattern for the melody; play “Ode to Joy” by Beethoven. Start on E in the right hand. The first phrase of the tune consists of 2nds only. Once you have the melody in your fingers, try accompanying with first a blocked 5th, then a 6th. Can you hear where to make the change from 5th to 6th?

Left Hand Plays a 6th

• The only gap is between thumb and finger 2.
• Play back and forth between the 5th and the 6th, first by moving the thumb, then by moving the fingers away from the thumb.

Change to the 6th by moving the thumb up; then play the 6th by moving the fingers away from the thumb. The 6th is made of either C up to A, or B up to G.

Which 6th sounds better with your melody?

Accompany each note of the five-finger pattern with either a 5th or a 6th. You need to play ultra slowly so you can manage the left hand accompaniment. When this is manageable, switch hands—five-finger pattern in the left hand, 5ths and 6ths in the right hand.

Ode to Joy

• Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” is written in the C major five-finger pattern.
• The left hand plays 5ths and 6ths as accompaniment.
• Practice each hand alone until it feels easy. Then play hands together slowly.

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FIRST INVERSION

It can be easier to play a chord that has been inverted

The triads you have learned so far sound good, but sometimes inverting the chords makes a better sound, and might be easier to play. Learning to play triads in root position (the name of the chord is the lowest note), then playing an inversion, makes you feel at ease at the keyboard. Also, seeing the inversion on the staff in a blocked, then broken form, enables you to see chord patterns in any kind of music.

C Major Chord, First Inversion, LH

• The intervals between the keys have changed: the outside keys are a 6th apart; the interval between fingers 1 and 3 is a 4th.
• Play back and forth between the root position chord and the first inversion chord, blocked and broken.
• Sing or say the names of the notes in the chord, up and down.

Since there are three different notes in a triad, there will be three positions of the chord. In the root position, the name of the chord will be the lowest note. The triad stacks up in intervals of 3rds.

Take the lowest note and make it the top note (up an octave from the low position). If your chord is a C major chord, the lowest note will now be E, the middle note G, and the highest note, C. The intervallic structure changed from all 3rds to a 3rd from the bottom key to the middle key, and a 4th from the middle key up to the highest key. The outside interval changed from a 5th to a 6th.

C Major Chord, First Inversion, RH

• The shape of the chord is the same as in the LH, but the most relaxed fingering is 1-2-5.
• Remember that the gap in the 6th is between fingers 1 and 2. This explains the fingering.
• Play back and forth between the root position chord and the first inversion, blocked and broken chords.
• Sing or say the names of the notes in the chord as you play.

Again, take the lowest note, E, and move it to the top (up an octave). G is now the lowest key, C is in the middle, and E is the top key. The outside interval is a 6th.

You should practice these different positions of a chord, singing or saying the names of the keys as you play them. Play them in the left hand, then in the right hand.

C Major Chord, 1st Inversion

• I have written the first inversion of the C major chord, first in a broken form, then a blocked form.
• Practice this inversion as you did the root position chord, both hands, an octave apart. Play left hand from bottom to top, right hand the same; then play them blocked.

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SECOND INVERSION

With this inversion, play all the bugle tunes you know

In this inversion, the intervals shift once again. The outside keys still form a 6th, but the 4th and the 3rd have switched places. The fingering in the left hand is now 5-2-1; in the right hand it is 1-3-5.

If you can hum, whistle, or simply hear bugle tunes, you should be able to pick out “Reveille,” “Taps,” or any other bugle tune, when your hand is on the second inversion. You will need the other hand to play a fourth key, which will be up a 3rd, or an octave above the lowest key in the inversion. If you go to baseball games, you can hear the organist play up the 2nd inversion, with that added octave at the top: G-C-E-G-E-G.

C Major Chord, Second Inversion, LH

• The bottom G and the top E form a 6th.
• With the gap between fingers 1 and 2, the middle note, C is played with finger 2.
• Practice moving from root position to first inversion to second inversion, always slowly, always going up, then down.
• After you have played the inversions blocked, play them broken, slowly, but with a steady beat.
• Play chord inversions down, from the top note. Naming the notes as you play helps.

Using the 2nd inversion of the chord, you can also play the first phrase of ’Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” by Mozart. Begin with the middle note, C, and play down to G, back up to C, repeat three times and extend the phrase by playing up to E and the next G.

C Major Chord, Second Inversion, RH

• With fingers 1 and 5 on the 6th, finger 3 naturally plays the middle key, C.
• Practice this inversion in conjunction with the first inversion and the root position. Go up the keyboard, naming the notes of the chord from the lowest to the highest.
• Now play the chords arpeggiated from lowest to highest. Play slowly and keep a steady beat. Name the notes as you play them.
• When you play down the chords, start with the top note. Keep naming notes as you play.

Once your mind and ear start working, you might hear lots of other tune fragments.

RED●LIGHT

I use the words “note” and “key” interchangeably. In the beginning it is important to differentiate between a key on the keyboard, and a note written on the music staff. Later on, as you learn scales, we will begin talking about a certain piece being “in the key of” C or G. To avoid confusion you should eventually stick with the word “note” for a key on the piano.

• The 2nd inversion chord is written in the treble clef.
• “Taps” is written out for you to experiment with.

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TRIADS WITH BLACK KEYS

Having black keys in a chord makes it easy to find and feel the chord

Black keys once again help with finding your place on the keyboard! When you play the D major triad in root position, then invert the chord, you are able to feel the place. Experiment with fingering: When you play the first inversion of the D major triad in the left hand, finger 5 doesn’t always feel comfortable on F^♯. Try playing the F^♯ with finger 4, A with finger 2, and D with finger 1.

C Minor Chord, First Inversion, Both Hands

• The fingers used here are the same as an all-white-key chord, LH 5-3-1, RH 1-2-5.
• Experiment with fingers 1-2-4 when the fifth fingers are on black keys.
• Don’t twist the wrist in order to get the thumb on the black key.
• Listen for an even sound. The hand will feel well balanced when the fingers are evenly strong.

In the right hand, if the 5th finger is on a black key (F^♯ in the D major chord), you can try the same fingering; i.e. finger 4 on F^♯, finger 2 on D, finger 1 on A.

Personally, I like to use the thumb on all the chords, whether it plays a white key or a black key. You can try other fingerings, but don’t twist the hand or wrist to get the fingers in place. Move forward toward the fallboard. The goal is comfort and ease of movement.

C Minor Chord, Second Inversion, Both Hands

• Again, fingers 5-3-1 LH and 1-2-5 RH are used.
• Experiment with other fingerings, but keep using the thumb. It helps keep your hand relaxed.
• Continue to practice one finger at a time; when playing the chord, name each note of the chord.

As with other chord practice, name the notes of the chord as you play them. Saying them aloud helps you to remember them. If you are having trouble playing the chords evenly (all three notes sounding at the same time), go back to the way you worked on each finger, then two-finger combinations. As the fingers gain strength you will be able to hear a difference in the evenness of the chords.

A Tune of Chord Notes

• Analyze this piece for its interval structure. Do you see chords outlined?
• Practice the RH chords blocked, so you can move easily from measure to measure.
• Look for broken chords in LH measure 4. Practice the s pot until it feels comfortable.
• Play hands together slowly, blocking chords in RH. Then play slowly as written.

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