Essential Piano Chords Every Pianist Needs to Know

Basic piano chords for piano are the building blocks of almost all piano music. From Mozart’s piano concertos to the Beatles’ hits, chords are foundational. Memorizing them is essential to songwriting, reading new music, and understanding the theory beyond the basics of piano. The fact is that there are dozens to learn, but here’s a list of the most important.

What is a Piano Chord?

A piano chord is a set of two or more pitches that form harmony. On the piano specifically, those pitches may be played as block chords, where the pitches are played simultaneously. They may also be played as broken chords, where the notes are struck one at a time in rapid succession. When broken chords on a piano are arpeggiated, the pianist often uses the sustain pedal so that the individual pitches ring out and blend together in a harp-like manner.  

You may also like: Piano Keyboard Layout, a Helpful Guide for Beginners

What are the Main Types of Piano Chords?

There are four main types of piano chords. They are called major, minor, diminished, and augmented, respectively. All four chord types contain three scale degrees called: 

1.) The Root (The First) 

2.) The Third 

3.) The Fifth 

Sometimes fifths are omitted in chords piano, depending on the context and octave range on the piano. The root is the letter name of the chord. For example, in a C major chord, C is the root. Often, the root is the lowest note of the chord. However, chords may also be inverted. This alters the order or arrangement of the notes. 

In order to understand any chord, you must first understand intervals. All four chord types are built upon “stacked thirds.” The fancy name for this is tertian chords. 

Looking for more help understanding piano chords and the piano keyboard? Check out this helpful video:

What are the Most Important Piano Chords to Learn?

While it’s great to be able to know all the chords on piano, there are a handful of chord types that will be most helpful to you as a pianist. These include major, minor, diminished, and augmented chords.  These chords on keyboard will are also important to learn. Let’s take a closer look. 

Major 

A major chord is defined by the relationship between the root and the third. In this case, it is a major third interval. To find a major third, you may count five half steps (semitones) from the root to the third. Let’s look at a C major chord as an example. C to E is a major third interval. Counting half steps, or moving chromatically, you may ascend from C to C-sharp, then to D, then to D-sharp, and finally to E. This means you have traveled five half steps. We always count the first note–in this case C–as the first step.   

For major chords, the fifth interval is more specifically called a “perfect fifth.” Using chromatic or half step ascension, we can move 8 steps to find the perfect fifth. For example, C moves to C-sharp, then to D, then to D-sharp, then to E, then to F, then to F-sharp, and finally to G. This is a movement of eight half steps. Remember, we always count the starting note–in this case C–as the first step. Major chords are often abbreviated to maj., capital M, or a superscript triangle (△) in a chord chart.  

C major

This consists of C (root), E (major third), and G (perfect fifth), most easily played with fingers 1, 3, and 5 in the right hand, and fingers 5, 3, and 1 in the left hand.   

Here’s a video of how to play it:

Thanks VPianist for the use of this video!

C major 7/9b

For more advanced students, try a jazzy C major 7 flat 9. The major 7 (B) and flat 9 (D-flat) are chordal extensions. One way to render this larger, more dissonant piano chord would be to use fingers 1 (E), 2 (G), 3 (B-flat), and 5 (D-flat) in the right hand while playing the root C with finger 5 in the left hand.    

Here’s a video of how to play it:

Thanks to Mahalo Piano for the use of this video.

G major

This consists of G (root), B (major third), and D (perfect fifth), played with fingers 1, 3, and 5 in the right hand, and fingers 5, 3, and 1 in the left hand.  

Here’s a video of how to play it:

Thanks to VPiano for the use of this video.

G major, first inversion

A great variation is to play an inversion of G major, like the first inversion. To play this, your right hand finger 1 plays B, finger 2 plays D, and finger 5 plays G. Your left hand finger 5 plays B, finger 3 plays D, and finger 1 plays G.

Here’s a video of how to play it:

Thanks to Mahalo Piano for the use of this video.

F major

This consists of F (root), A (major third), and C (perfect fifth), played with fingers 1, 3, and 5 in the right hand, and fingers 5, 3, and 1 in the left hand.  

Here’s a video of how to play it:

Thanks to The Simple Piano for the use of this video.

F major, second inversion

For those of you who love a variation, try the second inversion of F major. This means playing with your right hand, C with finger 1, F with finger 3, and A with finger 5. Your left hand would play C with finger 5, finger 2 or 3 plays F, and your thumb plays A.

Here’s a video of how to play it:

Thanks to Mahalo Piano for the use of this video.

Minor

Like major, minor piano chords are defined by the relationship between the root and the third. In this case, it is a minor third interval. To find a minor third, you may count four half steps (or semitones) from the root to the third. Let’s look at the C minor chord as an example. C to E-flat is a minor third interval. Counting half steps, or moving chromatically, you may ascend from C to C-sharp, then to D, and finally to D-sharp. In this example, however, we will call D-sharp an E-flat.  

All notes have two (sometimes more) names. We call this enharmonics. It’s a fancy word, but it just means that there are two or more names for the same note. Enharmonics most commonly applies to the black keys but the term may also apply to the white keys (eg. E vs. F-flat). Some key signatures are enharmonic too.    

In our modern tuning system, D-sharp and E-flat are the same notes. Using the alphabet, C to E is three letters away, so we want to use E-flat to define a minor third since C is the root. Technically, C to D-sharp would have to be called an augmented second because it’s only two alphabet letters apart. C minor is also a flat key. It uses three flats: E-flat, A-flat, and B-flat. 

The bottom line is that minor chords must contain a minor third interval between the root and the third. Also, like major chords, the fifth interval in a minor chord is called a “perfect fifth.” Using chromatic, or half step ascension, we can move 8 steps between the root and the fifth to find the perfect fifth. For example, C moves to C-sharp, then to D, then to D-sharp, then to E, then to F, then to F-sharp, and finally to G. This is a movement of eight half steps. Remember, we always count the first note–in this case C–as the first step. Minor chords are often abbreviated to min., lower case m, or a dash (-) in a chord chart.      

A minor

This consists of playing A (root), C (minor third), and E (perfect fifth) with fingers 1, 3, and 5 in the right hand and fingers 5, 3, and 1 in the left hand. Remember, the note C is the minor third and the third defines the chord type.  

Here’s a video of how to play it:

Thanks to mahalodotcom for the use of this video.

A minor 7

A min7 contains the notes A, C, E, and G. The G is a chordal extension and the interval between the root (A) and the seventh (G) is a minor seventh. You would play this piano chord using a 1, 2, 3, 5 fingering in the right hand or a 5, 3, 2, 1 fingering in the left hand. 

Here’s a video of how to play it:

Thanks to mahalodotcom for the use of this video.

A Minor-Major Seventh

If you play A, C, E and G-sharp (instead of G) you are playing a rarer chord, used primarily in jazz and other contemporary repertoire. This neat chord is called a minor-major seventh. The chord contains a minor third (A to C) and a major seventh (A to G-sharp). The minor-major chord is sometimes referred to as a “noir” chord because it was popular in film noir soundtracks. The fingering for an A min△7 would be the same as the standard A min7.       

Here’s how to play it:

Thank you Pianonote for the use of this video.

Diminished

Like major and minor, a diminished chord contains a root, third, and fifth. Here, the fifth takes on greater significance though. This chord is made up of two stacked minor third intervals. For example, C to E-flat is a minor third, and E-flat to G-flat is a minor third interval. Played together, C, E-flat, and G-flat make up a C diminished triad. 

The easiest diminished chord to find on the piano begins on B and uses only white keys. If you play B, then skip a note (C), then play D, then skip the next note (E), and play F, you have stacked diminished thirds on the white keys. More specifically, those notes would be: B (root), D (third), and F (fifth). The fingering for this B diminished chord would be 1, 3, 5 in the right hand and 5, 3, 1 in the left hand. Diminished piano chords are typically used as transition chords, and they are often notated in a chord chart with a superscript degree symbol (o). For example, B diminished would look like Bo.      

B Diminished Seventh 

A B dim7 chord adds one harmonic extension. In addition to the notes B (root), D (minor third), and F (diminished fifth), you would add an A-flat (diminished seventh) on top. In other words, you would be stacking another minor third interval above F. The fingering for this chord would be 1, 2, 3, 5 in the right hand and 5, 3, 2, 1 in the left hand. 

Here’s what that looks like:

Thanks to mahalodotcom for the use of this video. 

B Half Diminished 

Half diminished chords are used more sparingly by classical composers but contemporary jazz artists employ them often. This chord creates an interesting tension because, instead of adding another minor third on top, the half diminished stacks a major third interval on top. In this example, the notes of the B half diminished chord would be: B (root), D (minor third), F (diminished fifth) and A-natural (minor seventh). The fingering for this chord is the same, however, as the more common B dim7. Half diminished chords are often notated in a chord chart with a superscript diameter symbol.

Augmented Chords

Augmented chords are the fourth category of basic chords piano, and like their diminished cousin, they are often used as transitions. Also, like major, minor, and diminished chords, the augmented chord is a triad containing a root, third, and fifth. 

Like major chords, the augmented chord uses a major third. But the most defining note in this chord is the sharped or augmented fifth. Augmented chords do not occur naturally in a major key without adding a sharp or accidental. However, using the harmonic minor scale variant, an augmented chord may appear in minor keys. For example, in the key of C minor, a root position E-flat augmented chord transitions with seamless voice leading into a root position F minor chord. In this case, the E-flat augmented chord would include the notes: E-flat (root), G (major third) and B-natural (augmented fifth). The B-natural borrows from the C harmonic minor scale. 

Don’t think that augmented chords are relegated to minor keys only though. Augmented chords are used in both major and minor keys with great flair by composers and songwriters of all eras and genres. Augmented chords are often notated in a chord chart with a superscript plus symbol.

C Augmented Seventh 

C augmented seventh or C+7 would include the notes: C (root) E (third) G-sharp (augmented fifth) and B-flat (minor seventh). This chord functions much like a dominant seventh chord (see below) but with a sharpened fifth (G-sharp). The fingering for this chord would be 1, 2, 4, 5 in the right hand and 5, 3, 2, 1 in the left hand.  

Here’s what that looks like:

Thanks to mahalodotcom for the use of this video.

Dominant Seventh: 

Dominant seventh chords are very common chords but they can be confusing for beginner pianists. There are two things you will need to remember about them: 

1.) Dominant sevenths are major piano chords with a minor seventh chordal extension. For example, C dominant seventh (or C7) would include a C (root) and a B-flat (minor seventh). The other notes that make up this chord would be E (major third) and G (perfect fifth). 

2.) The word “dominant” refers to the fifth scale degree or fifth step of the given key. For example, in the key of C major, G7 would be the dominant chord. This is because G is five scaler steps above C. Dominant seventh chords are typically employed as musical cadences, or pivot points, within a chord progression.

G Dominant Seventh (G7 in the Key of C Major)

G Dominant Seventh or G7 is built on the fifth step or fifth scale degree of the C major scale. Often, the music returns to C major (or deceptively to A minor) after this chord is played. It may also be used as a secondary dominant chord, but that is a more advanced compositional use. The notes of a G7 are: G (root), B (major third), D (perfect fifth), and F (minor seventh). The fingering for this chord would be 1, 2, 3, 5 in the right hand and 5, 3, 2, 1 in the left hand.

Thanks to mahalodotcom for the use of this video. 

Inverted G Dominant Seventh (G7 in the Key of C Major) 

On piano, it’s very effective to invert dominant seventh chords, while omitting the fifth. One common inverted dominant seventh is the G7 chord. This chord uses the notes B (major third), F (minor seventh), and G (root). In this inversion, the third is on the bottom, the seventh is in the middle, and the root is on the top. Notice how the fifth (D) is left out of the chord. The fingering for this chord is 1, 4, 5 in the right hand and 5, 2, 1 in the left hand. All dominant seventh chords  (in all keys) may be inverted in this same way.   

Learn to Read Chord Types in Sheet Music: 

Knowing different chord types is important, but it’s even better if you can recognize those chords in piano music. Check out the helpful video below to start learning how.

Now That You Know Piano Chords, It’s Time to Learn Chord Progressions!

These basic piano chords in different combinations together can make up chord progressions. The progressions that those particular chords of any major or minor key make are found in many pop, country, and rock songs. 

Try playing these types of chords in any key in different orders to find the basis for a new song of your own. On the other hand, you might just hear the progression of one of your favorite tunes. Either way, you might just have a hit song on your hands. The best part is, you’ll be on your way to improving your piano technique, and expanding your musical repertoire.

Photo by pedrobonatto