How To Learn Piano Chords Fast Without Reading Music

Discover the fastest, easiest way to learn piano chords - without reading music. Once you learn how to build any chord - in any key - you'll be amazed at how simple it is. In fact, sheet music just gets in the way for most people, when they could actually be learning simple, professional piano chords in just a few minutes.

Contrary to popular belief, you can learn piano chords without years of lessons, recitals, or even learning to read music. In fact, depending on the song you're trying to learn, you can probably learn exactly the piano chords you need in under an hour. Here's how.

If you must use a chart for piano chords, I recommend one with only pictures of the piano and dots on the keys that should be played. This will help you go as quickly as possible from seeing symbols for piano chords to just playing them.

Piano Chords Preparation: Naming The Notes & Intervals

If you already know the note names, simply skip ahead. If not, here's what you need to know...

There are two groups of black keys on the piano - a group of two and a group of three. The white key immediately to the left of any group of two black keys is C. Moving up from there, playing only white keys, we have the notes D, E, F, G, A, B, C, and it starts all over again. That's a C major scale, for your information.

When any note is flat (like Db), simply play the very next key immediately to the left, whether that's a black or white key. When any note is sharp (like D#), play the very next key immediately to the right, whether that's a black or white key.

A half step is the shortest distance between keys on the piano - it could be from a white key to a black key (like D to Db), or a white key to a white key (like E to F).

And now you know how to find any note on the piano!

Major And Minor Piano Chords

Major piano chords are built with the root (C, for example), the note 4 half steps above that (the third, E in this example), and the note 3 half steps above the last note (the fifth, or G in this example). Try it, starting on any note on the piano.

Minor piano chords are built with the root (C, for example), the note 3 half steps above that (the minor third, or Eb in this example), and the note 4 half steps above the last note (the fifth again, or G in this example). Play the major and minor chords with the same root, alternating them, and hear how those chords differ.

Dominant seventh piano chords are built starting with the major chord (for example, C - E - G) and adding the note 3 half steps above the 5th (Bb in this case, making C7: C - E - G - Bb).

These are the three main piano chords you'll need for most songs.

Learning With Inversions

To learn piano chords quickly, simply say and play them over and over while you play inversions of them. An inversion simply moves the notes of the chord around.

For example, C major in root position is C - E - G; in first inversion, it's E - G - C; and in second inversion, it's G - C - E; then we're back to root position again.

Practice by saying "C major" over and over again while playing C major inversions up and down the piano keyboard with both right and left hands. The idea is to be able to see the symbols for piano chords (C) and get to the chord as quickly as possibly, NOT to spend a bunch of time figuring out what each note on the sheet music is.

And there you have it - learn piano chords by immersion, by actually playing. It's time for you to start figuring out your own piano chords!