7 Great Sounding Chords | 3 Simple Hand Positions

As much as I enjoy teaching the concept of chords, I often forget how satisfying it can be to learn a simple hand position at the piano and apply it to any key of music. In this article, I want to share with you three different chord hand positions.

Even though I'm referring to this concept as chord hand positions, they're actually simple voicings that you can play in any key using almost identical fingerings. Let's take a look at them.

These 3 simple chord hand positions can actually spell out 7 different chords because you can apply the diatonic tones in the bass to the chords that fit them.

The diatonic tones in a key of music are of course the 7 different notes in the key. For example, C Major.7 Great Sounding Chords | 3 Simple Hand Positions

In our right hand, we'll look at the 3 different chord positions in the key of C Major. We'll also include the corresponding bass note with these chords.

1 The first chord is C Major in what is commonly known as 2nd inversion. In our left hand, we'll add C (the root of C Major) as the bass note.

7 Great Sounding Chords | 3 Simple Hand Positions

2 Our Second chord is F Major in 1st inversion. In our left hand, we'll add D as the bass note. This bass note defines this chords as a D minor 7 chord.7 Great Sounding Chords | 3 Simple Hand Positions

7 Great Sounding Chords | 3 Simple Hand Positions

3 We're back to the first chord. C Major in 2nd inversion. This time, we'll play it over E as the bass note. This is still a C Major chord but without the root in the bass.4 Our fourth chord is F Major again in 1st inversion. In our left hand, we'll play F in the bass. This is just a simple F Major chord.7 Great Sounding Chords | 3 Simple Hand Positions7 Great Sounding Chords | 3 Simple Hand Positions

5 Our fifth chord is G major in root position. This is the most basic triad out of these chords. The left hand has G in the bass also.7 Great Sounding Chords | 3 Simple Hand Positions7 Great Sounding Chords | 3 Simple Hand Positions6 Our sixth chord is the C Major again in 2nd inversion. We'll play A in the bass which defines it as an A minor 7 chord.7 Great Sounding Chords | 3 Simple Hand Positions7 Great Sounding Chords | 3 Simple Hand Positions

7 Our seventh chord is the G Major in root position again. We'll play B in the bass. This is still a G Major chord but without the 3rd in the bass.

These aren't just great sounding chords, you can use them as an exercise (or repetition as I prefer to call it) to gain proficiency playing chords in your right hand with the corresponding bass notes in your left.

When you get these chords in C Major under your hands, transpose them to another key and you'll see how useful and fun it is. This really develops your chord playing and helps you to progress in your piano playing.

Until next time, Go Play!

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Greg Lee

Hi, my name is Greg Lee. I'm the creator of the Color Score Professional/Visual Chord Learning System. I love to share ideas and concepts about piano and keyboard playing in all styles of music. I believe the key to learning is having fun and making complicated things simple with visual tools and illustrations.

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