The Major Chord
The first thing you will need to know to start playing the Rock keyboards is some chords. There are many different types of chords, the most common being the major chord. All major chords contain three notes, taken from the major scale of the same letter name. These three notes are the first (1), third (3) and fifth (5) degrees of the major scale. (If you are not familiar with major scales, see Progressive Beginner Piano). The chord formula for the major chord is:
The C Major Chord
The C major chord is constructed from the C major scale. Using the above chord formula on the C major scale below, it can be seen that the C major chord contains the notes C, E and G.
C Major Scale
Chord Symbols
The chord symbol for a major chord is just the letter name of the chord, eg: the chord symbol for the C major chord is C. It is common practice to refer to a C major chord as the C chord. This abbreviation applies to all major chords.
Play the three notes of the C chord with the first, third and fifth fingers of your right hand, individually, and then together as shown below.
When playing a chord one note at a time it is referred to as an arpeggio.
The first note from the major scale (and hence the first note of the major chord) is called the root note. When playing chords with the right hand, the left hand often plays the root note, as shown in example 1 below.
In example 1 the C chord is played in arpeggio style in bars 1 and 3.
