Introduction

Let’s look at how to practice piano chords in the key of C major. I’ve been working with my daughters to teach them how to use piano chords to play and create music at the piano, and this is the process I’m using to teach them. They’re falling in love with the piano too, which makes me so happy!

Here are the steps we’ll use to become fluent playing chords in the key of C major:

1. Practice the scale
2. Practice the primary chords
3. Practice the chords for the key
4. Practice the inversions of the chords for the key
5. Practice the broken inversions of the chords for the key

1. Practice the C Major Scale

The first step is to practice playing the C major scale. The C major scale contains all the notes in the key of C major, so becoming familiar with the notes in the scale is foundational to playing creatively in the key of C.

Here are the notes for the C major scale:

First we’ll play the scale using the right hand ascending (going up), using fingers 1 – 2 – 3 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 (thumbs are 1’s).

Then we’ll play the scale using the right hand descending (going down). We’ll use fingers 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 3 – 2 – 1.

Then we’ll play the scale with the left hand ascending (going up). We’ll use fingers 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – 3 – 2 – 1.

Then we’ll play the scale with the left hand descending (going down). We’ll use fingers 1 – 2 – 3 – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5.

Then we’ll combine both hands and play the scale ascending and descending.

Get a Printable to Help You Learn Chords in C Major

This printable will really help you practice these concepts, so be sure to get your copy:

2. Practice the Primary Chords

Next we’ll play through the primary chords. Primary chords are the chords built off the first, fourth and fifth notes of the scale. They’re the chords used most often in that key.

The primary chords for the key of C major are:

C major

F major

G major

The best way to practice these chords is to use inversions. Inversions are when we rearrange the notes of a chord, so that the root note, the note the chord is named after, is not at the bottom of the chord.

When we play a chord in root position, the root note – the note the chord is named after – is at the bottom of the chord. We can use fingers 1 – 3 – 5 to play major, minor, augmented and diminished chords in root position.

Here’s a C major chord in root position:

When we move the bottom note of a root position chord to the top of the chord, we’ve inverted the chord. This is called first inversion. We can use fingers 1 – 2 – 5 to play major, minor, augmented and diminished chords in first inversion.

Here’s a C major chord in first inversion:

When we move the bottom note of a first inversion chord to the top of the chord, we’ve inverted the chord again. This is called second inversion. We can use fingers 1 – 3 – 5 to play major, minor, augmented and diminished chords in second inversion.

Here’s a C major chord in second inversion:

Primary Chord Progression in C Major

Here’s a good chord progression to use when practicing playing the primary chords in C major, using both root position chords and inversions to smoothly connect the chords:

C – F – C – G – C

We can play the chords using these inversions:

C major (root position)

F major (2nd inversion)

C major (root position)

G major (1st inversion)

C major (root position)

First we can play through these chords with the right hand. Then we can play them with the left hand.

Once we can play the inversions smoothly with each hand individually, we can play them with both hands together.

3. Practice the Chords for the Key

Next we’ll practice playing the chords for the key of C major.

We can find these chords by building a “1 – 3 – 5” chord off each note of the scale, using only the notes of the scale to build the chords. When we do this, we find the chords for the key of C.

The chords are:

C major

D minor

E minor

F major

G major

A minor

B diminished

We can play through these chords in root position (right hand uses fingers 1 – 3 – 5, left hand uses fingers 5 – 3 – 1), with both hands together.

4. Practice the Inversions of the Chords for the Key

Now we’ll play through the chords for the key of C again, but this time we’ll use inversions. We’ll play through each chord in root position, first inversion, second inversion, and root position again, before moving on to the next chord.

We can practice this first using the right hand, then we can practice the same thing with the left hand.

When we’re comfortable playing through the inversions for each chord with both hands separately, we can then play through the inversions with both hands together.

Getting familiar with these different inversions in the key of C will really help you play creatively in C major!

5. Practice Broken Inversions of the Chords for the Key

The last step is to practice playing through the chords for the key again, using the inversions, but we’ll add one more layer. We’ll play the inversions using broken chords instead of block chords. Block chords are when the notes of the chord are played all at the same time. Broken chords are when the notes of the chord are played separately.

So we’ll play through the chords for the key of C again, using the inversions, but we’ll play the notes for each chord one-at-a-time.

We’ll do this first with the right hand. Then we’ll play it with the left hand. Then when we can do that comfortably, we’ll play through these broken inversions with both hands together.

This last piece is tricky, but once you get the hang of it, you will be very fluent playing chords in the key of C major!

Now you’re ready to create chord progressions and play creatively in C!

Conclusion

Using chords to learn the piano is a wonderful way to enjoy music! Practicing the scale and the primary chords and then the chords for the key and their inversions can be tricky at first, but once you get the hang of it, it will be lots of fun!