C's, Keys, and Chords, oh my!

We talked about relations in our last post, and once we have you comfortable with finding your way across the keys, we'll then come back to the idea of relationships and the concepts behind chords.

Let's find some keys! I'll be revisiting this theme of visualization often with the hopes that you begin to think about this every time you sit down at the keyboard. If you'll notice on the piano, there are two different sets of black keys grouped together. There is a set of 2 and a set of 3 that alternate across the keys.

If we focus on the set of 3 black keys, we'll find the note A between the last two.

If you can find A, you can find any key on the piano. Now just go up the alphabet from A to G.

** this picture can be found anytime under Music Resources
as "Piano Keys" on the sidebar **

It's important that you get to know these keys as quickly as possible! There are ways to help you remember where notes are, for example: The note D is in between the set of 2 black keys. Some might call this the Doghouse and remember that D is there. For me, I found it was easiest to remember where A was so that I could form reasons in my own mind why a key is located where it is. For now, I want you to remember where that A key can be found. Don't forget!

Here it is again.


Last time I promised that you'd be playing a song by the end of this lesson, so let's get to it!



Aside from learning where the A key is located.. (here! ), the only other thing that I want you to remember is the idea of the chord. Every song and every melody that you hear is based on a chord. How simple or how complex the song may sound is irrelevant. Whether you're playing R.E.M. or Mary Had a Little Lamb, these melodies are based around chords.

What exactly is a chord? We could get technical about this definition, but for our purposes, a chord is when you play three or more notes at the same time. For example, this is a C chord.

This is a C chord because C is the ROOT, meaning it is the note in the bottom. The great thing about chords is that you only need to know one note while you're playing it, and that is the ROOT. So if we wanted to play an F chord, the first thing we do is find F.

Now, we just add two evenly spaced notes on top, and we form an F chord.

Many songs that you hear are based only on three or four chords. For example, Amazing Grace is just C, F, and G. We know C and F, so let's look at G. First, find the note G.

Next, add two evenly spaced notes on the top, and we have a G chord.

Now that we know the chords C, F, and G, let's play Amazing Grace. Here is the chord pattern:

C -- C -- F -- C

C -- C -- G -- G

C -- C -- F -- C

C -- C -- G -- C

I have recorded the chords and the melody so that you can play along. Click on the following link to hear the song. (( Please note that this site does not work with Mozilla Firefox. ))

Amazing Grace


Congratulations! You've learned how to play your first song on the piano. We'll go into more depth on chords and melodies later on, but feel free to ask questions! I'm here to help!