Wanna know a secret about how to play any song? Learn chords and you’re well on your way.
If you play guitar than you probably already know about chords. If you take piano (that’s what I teach) than you may have learned some chords. I always encourage my students to learn chords because they are the building blocks of so much music. So what is a chord (pronounced “cord”) anyway? Well, technically, it’s when you play two or more notes at the same time. But usually a chord has at least three notes.
Each note of the chord gets a name. The “root” of the chord is the note that is the same letter for which the chord is named. For example, a “C chord” has the root “C”, a D chord has the root D, and a G chord has the root – you guessed it – G. The other two notes of the chord are called the “Third” and the “Fifth”. The Third is three notes from the root – but you have to count the root as “one”. The Fifth is five notes from the root. Again, be sure to count the root as “one” (so C is 1, D is 2, E is 3, etc.). If you don’t, you’ll end on the wrong note!
Now, if we really want to learn how to play chords we should know our scales, too. “Oh no, not scales!” you say. I know they’re boring, but if you know the scale, you can easily figure out the chord. So, let’s take the C scale. I bet a lot of you know that one. It’s C D E F G A B C. By the way, it’s also Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Ti Do. Now let’s make a C chord using the notes of the C scale. First, we’ll need the root of our chord. Well, that’s easy, the root is always the first note of the scale. For the C chord the root is C. Next, we need the Third. No problem, just count up from C. Remember C is 1, D is 2 and the third note is E. So E is the Third. Finally, we’ll need the Fifth. Just count up from C until you get to the fifth note, G. G is the Fifth. So there’s our C chord: C E and G. And, it’s the same three notes whether you play guitar or piano, or any other instrument for that matter.
Now that you know how to use the C scale to find the notes of the C chord, you can use another scale to find the notes of that chord. Try using the notes of the G scale to find the notes of the G chord. Follow the same rules, starting with the root, G in this case, and then find the Third and the Fifth. Next, try to find the notes for F chord. Once you know a few chords, you can find a song that uses those chords and play along. You guitar students have done this I bet. But you can do it on piano, too.
Here’s the chords and words for “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. When you see the letter C, play a C chord, when you see a letter G, play a G chord and so on. You can sing the words while you play the chords. Have fun!
C C F C
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
F C G C
How I wonder what you are
C F C G
Up above the world so high
C F C G
Like a diamond in the sky
C C F C
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
F C G C
How I wonder what you are