Learn the theory
Chord exercises
Knowing how a chord is built and being able to play it in time are two different things. These exercises are about the second: short routines, ordered by difficulty, to get the theory into your hands.
How to practise
- Start slow. Speed arrives on its own; accuracy does not.
- Practise the change between two chords, not each chord separately.
- Repeat each exercise in several keys, not only in C.
- Ten minutes a day is worth more than an hour once a week.
1 · Arpeggios
An arpeggio is the chord played note by note — what broken chords describes as an accompaniment device works here as an exercise.
Play C going up C – E – G and back down G – E – C, right hand, without looking at the keyboard. Then left hand. Then the same pattern over G and F, and chain all three without stopping between chords.
Once it flows, repeat it in G major and D major. The hand shape is the same; what changes is where it lands.
2 · Arpeggios with passing notes
Same exercise, with one note added between chords. Moving from C to Am, play a B on the way: it belongs to neither chord, but it joins the two arpeggios into a single line.
The point is not the note, it is the sense of continuity. When the line stops sounding like two blocks glued together, the exercise is done.
3 · Arpeggios with inversions
This is where it all comes together. Play the progression C – G – F using the inversions that minimise movement, as explained in fingering and movement: C in root position, G/B, F/C.
Arpeggiate each without moving your hand from its place. If you have to jump, pick a different inversion. Open any chord in the studio and use the inversion buttons to find the closest one.
4 · Block chords
The opposite of the arpeggio: the whole chord at once, every note sounding together and even. It is harder than it looks — one finger arriving late is enough to hear.
A very common accompaniment pattern, especially in 3/4: the left hand plays the root on beat one and the block chord on beats two and three. Practise it over C, Am, F and G, which is a complete progression.
5 · Chord and melody
The next step: the left hand accompanies with chords while the right carries the melody. This is where you find out whether the chord changes are automatic yet, because your attention has to be on the melody.
Start with a melody you already know by heart and accompany it with the triads of its key. The table in progressions tells you which ones those are.
6 · Blues
The twelve-bar blues is the best practice ground there is: one form, three chords, and plenty of room to try everything above.
In C: four bars of C7, two of F7, two of C7, one of G7, one of F7 and two of C7. Play the whole form in block chords, then arpeggiated, then with a melody on top. Once you have it, move it to F and to G.