Theory Lesson - Major Chords

I want to get something out just in case you don’t know it. There are literally thousands of chords you can make at the piano. I think it is a wonderful idea to get to know all these chords but that can wait for now.

At this point it is most important that we start somewhere and that somewhere is with our major chords.

Here is a little secret: you can literally play hundreds of songs with just three chords! These chords happen to be major chords!

These three chords are the I, IV, and V chords.

At this point you may be wondering what in the world the roman numerals are all about. Here, let me explain.

In any given key (scale) there are three chords which are referred to as the primary chords of that key (scale). Can you guess why they are called primary chords? That’s right, because they occur more often than the other chords! These chords are built from the 1^st note (degree), 4^th note (degree), and 5^th note (degree) of a scale.

To build these primary chords in any given key we simply start by forming chords from the 1^st, 4^th, and 5^th notes of a scale. If we look at the key of C we have:

C - D - E - F - G - A - B

1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7

I have numbered the notes for your convenience. All you have to do now is skip every other scale note by starting on the 1^st, 4^th, and 5^th notes of a key.

So, to build a I chord I start on the note C and end up with C-E-G. If we play these three notes together we have a I chord.

Our IV chord starts on F and we get F-A-C.

Our V chord starts on G and we get G-B-D

These really are the most important chords of any key. Remember that these are known as the primary chords. As you begin playing more and more music you will see how often primary chords show up.

Here are all the primary chords of every major key (scale).

Key of G: G, C, D

Key of D: D, G, A

Key of A: A, D, E

Key of E: E, A, B

Key of B: B, E, F#

Key of F: F, Bb, C

Key of Bb: Bb, Eb, F

Key of Eb: Eb, Ab, Bb

Key of Ab: Ab, Db, Eb

Key of Db: Db, Gb, Ab

Key of Gb: Gb, Cb, Db

I think it is a good idea to become very familiar with all these chords. There are two things you must know though.

1. It looks like a lot of chords but it really isn’t, I promise! If you look at the list you will soon see that many of the Chords repeat. There are really only 12 Basic Major Chords.

2. The second thing is to get the hand shape down. This will really speed up the learning process big time!

Go ahead and watch the video as much as is needed. It will show you up close exactly how to form all your major chords on the piano.