Things You'll Need:
- Keyboard
- Scale chart
- Piano chord book
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Step 1
Purchase a piano chord book and a scale reference chart. You can often find both of these in a piano course book available at just about any music store. You can also find a piano chord dictionary and scale chart online, free of charge. There are many chord families and variations of those chords, so you need to keep a reference handy as you begin working on playing chords on your keyboard.
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Step 2
Play a C major chord. Think of your fingers as numbers one through five. Your thumb, while not actually considered a finger, is included as a finger in reference to playing on a keyboard. Your thumb represents No. 1. Locate the middle C note on your keyboard. This will be the C right in the middle of the keyboard. Place your thumb on the C note, your third finger on the E note, and your fourth finger on the G note. Play all of these notes together to make a C major chord. Those notes are the first, third and fifth notes of the C major scale. If you look at the C major scale and count the notes, you will see this. All major triads are made using the first, third and fifth notes of the major scale with the same name as the chord you want to play. Knowing this allows you to build and play any major triad anywhere on your keyboard.
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Step 3
Play a minor chord. You do this the same way you made a major, except that a minor contains a flatted third scale note. If the notes of a C major chord are C, E and G (the first, third and fifth notes of the C major scale), then the notes of the C minor chord are the same except for the E, which you will play by bringing the finger you have on the E note back one key, to the black key. This note is E flat. Now play these notes together and you have a C minor chord. All minor chords are made this way, by flatting the third note of the scale (which is actually the second note of your chord).
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Step 4
Practice forming and playing major and minor chords in every key. Start with a D major chord and choose the first, third and fifth notes of the D major scale. Play them on your keyboard the same way you played the C major chord. Turn your D major into a D minor in the same way you turned a C major into a C minor. Once you have mastered the major and minor chords and can play them smoothly, you can move on to more advanced chords.
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Step 5
Play as much piano sheet music as you can. Playing songs using the chords you learn is the best way to learn how to play chords on a keyboard effectively. You can purchase books of piano songs ranging from easy to advanced at most music stores. You can also find simple piano music online, often free. Select songs that include chords you learn to help reinforce your chord study.
