Piano Key2

So, you’re thinking about (or are already) playing piano using the chord approach. But, you’re lost in the sea of chord types.

There are minor piano chords, major piano chords, and diminished piano chords. There are 9th chords flat 5 chords and other chords I can’t even begin to describe to you.

The good news is you don’t need to learn piano chords this way. There’s a much easier way to learn them and it all has to do with something called the open position chord.

Those of you who have been reading my articles for some time know I’m a big fan of this chord structure. You also know that I like it because you use both hands right away to create

Now why is starting out with seventh chords so important? Because, this chord type is the foundation for ALL modern chords period.

By starting with this chord structure - and learning all the chords in all 12 keys, you have a foundation to build on.

This way it won’t confuse you. For example, in the Key of C Major we have 7 chords. These are: C Major 7, D minor 7, E minor 7, F Major 7, G7, A minor 7, and B diminished 7. The last chord (B diminished seven is rarely used) but is included for you anyway.

Once you learn these chords in the Key of C Major, you simply go down the circle of fifths.

By learning only seventh chords to start it makes it much easier to add on the extensions. For example, if I wanted to construct a C Major 9 chord, I simply add in the ninth (the d note) and that’s that.

The beautiful thing about the open position chord structure is that it’s like a skeleton. It spreads your fingers out over 2 octaves and “opens up” the chord so adding in notes is easy!

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music’s online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private,