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Piano sheet music for kids · Chords
Piano chords for beginners
The chords a beginner meets first, each drawn on the keyboard the way a piano book draws them: the keys of the chord shaded and named, with the finger numbers underneath. Each one is written on the staff too, and Hear it plays the notes one at a time, then all together.
How to read a chord diagram
The shaded keys are the notes of the chord, and the letter on each key is its name. A dark green key is a black key, a sharp (♯) or a flat (♭).
Under the keyboard, R.H. is the right hand and L.H. the left. The numbers say which finger plays each key: 1 is the thumb, 2 the pointer finger, 3 the middle finger, 4 the ring finger and 5 the little finger, on both hands.
Beside the keyboard is the same chord on the staff, right hand on the treble staff and left hand on the bass staff, with its name above, the way songbooks print chord names.
How a chord is built
A chord is three or more notes played together. The simplest kind is built by skipping keys: put a finger on the note the chord is named after, skip a white key, play the next, skip one more, play the next. C, skip D, E, skip F, G: that is C major.
Try the same from D, E or A and you get a minor chord, which sounds darker. To make those three major, the middle note moves up to the black key just above it.
A seventh chord adds one more note on top by skipping again: G, B, D, F is G7. C7 is the one to watch: its top note is B♭, not B.
C position Major Minor Sevenths Chords by key
The first left-hand chords: C position
The left hand starts playing chords in Level 2: Left-hand chords. It stays in or near C position, little finger on the C below middle C, and these are the chords it plays, drawn at the pitch the pieces use them. F and G are rearranged (a teacher would say inverted) so the hand hardly moves: the thumb stretches up one key for F, and the little finger slides down one key for G. G7 comes two ways: without its bottom G when the hand stays put, or whole when the little finger reaches down to the low G first.
C – E – G · Left hand 5 3 1
C, E and G: the home chord. Little finger on C, middle finger on E, thumb on G.
C – F – A · Left hand 5 2 1
C, F and A. The same three notes as F major, rearranged so the little finger stays on C; the thumb stretches up one key to A.
B – D – G · Left hand 5 3 1
B, D and G. The same three notes as G major, rearranged so the hand barely moves: the little finger slides down one key from C to B.
B – D – F · Left hand 5 3 2
B, D and F: G7 without its bottom G. Little finger down to B, finger 3 on D, finger 2 on F.
G – B – D – F · Left hand 5 3 2 1
G, B, D and F, the whole G7 chord. Little finger reaches down to the low G; the other three fingers play B, D and F together.
Major chords
Major chords sound bright and settled. Each one is built the same way: from the bottom note, move up four keys (counting black keys too, but not the key you start on) for the middle note, then three more for the top note. Fingers 1, 3, 5 in the right hand and 5, 3, 1 in the left.
C – E – G · Right hand 1 3 5 · Left hand 5 3 1
All white keys. The first chord everyone learns, and home base for every piece in C.
D – F♯ – A · Right hand 1 3 5 · Left hand 5 3 1
The middle note is the black key F♯. Home chord for pieces in D major.
E – G♯ – B · Right hand 1 3 5 · Left hand 5 3 1
The middle note is the black key G♯. Played as E7 (below) it leads home to A minor.
F – A – C · Right hand 1 3 5 · Left hand 5 3 1
All white keys. The second of the three chords in C major, and home chord in F.
G – B – D · Right hand 1 3 5 · Left hand 5 3 1
All white keys. The third of the three chords in C major, and home chord in G.
A – C♯ – E · Right hand 1 3 5 · Left hand 5 3 1
The middle note is the black key C♯.
B♭ – D – F · Right hand 1 3 5 · Left hand 5 3 1
The bottom note is the black key B♭. Needed for pieces in F major.
Minor chords
Minor chords sound darker or sadder. Take a major chord and move its middle note down one key: C♯ to C turns A major into A minor. These three use only white keys. Same fingers as the major chords.
A – C – E · Right hand 1 3 5 · Left hand 5 3 1
All white keys. Compare it with A major: only the middle note moves, down one key, from C♯ to C.
D – F – A · Right hand 1 3 5 · Left hand 5 3 1
All white keys. D major with its middle note moved down from F♯ to F.
E – G – B · Right hand 1 3 5 · Left hand 5 3 1
All white keys. E major with its middle note moved down from G♯ to G.
Seventh chords
These seventh chords are a major chord with one more note on top, three keys above the top note (again not counting the key you start on). They sound unfinished, as if they want to move on, and the chord they lead to is where most pieces end: G (or G7) then C is how most simple pieces in C get home. Fingers 1, 2, 3, 5 in the right hand and 5, 3, 2, 1 in the left.
G – B – D – F · Right hand 1 2 3 5 · Left hand 5 3 2 1
G major plus F on top. It pulls hard back to C, which is why so many pieces in C end G7 then C.
C – E – G – B♭ · Right hand 1 2 3 5 · Left hand 5 3 2 1
C major plus B♭ on top. It leads home to F.
D – F♯ – A – C · Right hand 1 2 3 5 · Left hand 5 3 2 1
D major plus C on top. It leads home to G.
A – C♯ – E – G · Right hand 1 2 3 5 · Left hand 5 3 2 1
A major plus G on top. It leads home to D.
E – G♯ – B – D · Right hand 1 2 3 5 · Left hand 5 3 2 1
E major plus D on top. It leads home to A minor.
Which chords go with which key
Most simple songs need only three chords: the home chord, and the chords built on the fourth and fifth notes of the scale (musicians call them I, IV and V). The fifth-note chord is often played as a seventh, which leads home even more strongly. That is why so many simple songs in C need only C, F and G.
| Key | Home chord | The other two | Seventh that leads home |
|---|---|---|---|
| C major | C | F and G | G7 |
| G major | G | C and D | D7 |
| F major | F | B♭ and C | C7 |
| D major | D | G and A | A7 |
| A minor | Am | Dm and E | E7 |
Questions and answers
What are the three main piano chords for a beginner?
Which hand plays the chords?
What do the numbers under the keys mean?
What is the difference between a major and a minor chord?
What is C position?
Can I print the chord chart?
← Level 2: Left-hand chords, the first pieces with chords · All 201 pieces: piano sheet music for kids
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The piano books we use
We bought every one of these ourselves. Kenneth Baker wrote two versions of his course: The Complete Piano Player for a piano or digital piano, and The Complete Keyboard Player for a home keyboard with automatic accompaniment. Pick the one that matches what you play on. Outside Australia? Each book also has an eBay link to a new copy from a seller that posts internationally.
These are affiliate links. The Amazon.com.au links are marked “(paid link)”: as an Amazon Associate, Digital Greenhouse earns from qualifying purchases. The eBay links are marked “(paid link — eBay)”: through the eBay Partner Network, we may be paid if you buy through one. You pay the same price either way.
Learning on a piano or digital piano
The Complete Piano Player is a five-book course for beginners: it starts with your thumb on middle C and teaches reading music through popular songs.
Learning on a home keyboard
The Complete Keyboard Player is the same course written for keyboards with automatic accompaniment, like a 61-key Yamaha or Casio: your right hand plays the tune and your left hand sets off the chords and the backing.