How to Learn Many Chords on Piano Using Two Shapes and the Numbers 1 to 5

Co-authored by Cuong Nguyen

Last Updated: July 24, 2025 References

Two "basic" fingerings -- just two of exactly the same shape using the same fingers, but starting from the various "fundamental" notes -- will work for all major, minor, 7th, major 7th and minor 7th chords for chording on piano, using 3 fingers but with some adding a 4th finger -- explained below...

You may have thought of the basic chords as complicated and massive information to memorize and learn theory about, but now think of the shapes of the hands and the fingering to simplify it a great amount. Learn to visualize the simplicity of a system that is consistent and familiar.

Steps

1
Picture fingering of the "shapes of chords" on your fingers and hands by thinking of:
- the three-finger chords as a tripod shape and
- the four-finger chords as a fork. Yes, that is simplified...
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3
Practice playing with the pictures of your hands (in your mind) like visual aides that may make you feel both clever and confident.
- When you play chords: do not play all the notes at once "clump," "clump" but play arpeggio (ar-pe-szhe-o; this is also called "broken chords" -- as you strike notes rapidly one-by-one, where each note is struck in sequence from lowest to highest^{[1]
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  Expert Source
  
  Melissa McDermott
  Designer & Social Media Manager
  
  Expert Interview} (slightly rocking your hand, tilting it, left to right); so it sounds like r-r-ring -- not "clunk" or "crash"...
- So learning scales as arpeggio is a little like "strumming" a guitar, but doing it on the piano. Arpeggi means playing on a harp.^{[2]
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one-after-another, and separated by a second or a split second, depending on the tempo of each musical piece.

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Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Three-Finger Major Chords Fingerings

) sounded together. If you speak of only two notes that are to be sounded then that is known as an interval (like a distance).^{[3]
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Cuong Nguyen
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Expert Interview}^{[4]
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in the photos using sticky notes on a keyboard below... but C shown as three notes on lines of sheet music would not show that concept.
Notice the simpler of three-note chords are the major chords "C, F, and G" that are made up of only white keys spaced and shaped exactly the same way "every time."
4
Visualize the shape of the left hand for "C, F, and G" is all the same identical tri-formation. That shape (like a formula) uses fingers "5, 3, and 1". The other 3-note major chords use the same fingering but slightly differing shapes because of sharps and/or flats:
1. Find the fundamental note (C or F or G), and
2. Go across the ivory keys to the 3rd note using the 3rd finger and
3. Play the ivory 5th note using the 5th finger (the thumb).
  - So, the formula for those three chords is simply left to right on the left hand (numbered 5, 3, 1) starting at the fundamental basis note which names of each chord.
as "A chord" in the photos using sticky notes on a keyboard at the left... but D shown as three notes on lines of sheet music does not show that idea as clearly. Examine the shapes of the hand for A and D chord and you'll agrees that they are almost the same as C, F, G -- but it has the middle fingered-note "sharped" ("Sharping" or "flatting" is really only a half step between notes.). So, these both have a black key for the middle finger -- left to right on the left hand (5, 3#, 1) where the "#" symbol means "sharp" which is most often the black key to the right...^{[5]
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Realize the situations where two ivory keys are together (adjacent, without a black one between them) -- so there the white key is the sharp -- or the flat (just 1/2 step to the "other" side) in some chords and scales.
The flat is merely adjacent to the left side of a note and sharp would be adjacent to the right side of the same key, but either way is a 1/2 step off.
Understand that the combination for a chord of three (or more) notes sounded together at certain distances between the notes ("intervals") are based on a pattern (or formula) for the chord in the "circle of notes" like find your "1st, 3rd, 5th" any or all of which may be off by half steps either way (sharped leftward or flatted rightward on the keyboard) to form various chords.
Play the same chord on the right hand with the same kind of shape with the thumb and fingers again numbered left to right "1, 2, 3, 4, 5" but now starting from the thumb (1) to the right little finger (5);^{[6]
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"5, 4, 3, 2, 1 ~ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5" From LEFT to RIGHT (so, no keyboard is needed for this kind of practice!): Left-hand: "5, 4, 3, 2, 1" Right-hand "1, 2, 3, 4, 5"Left-hand: "5, 3, 1" Right-hand "1, 3, 5", and such.
So, you can have a fake-board the size of real keys or keyboard -- but remember that some electronic boards are shortened, not full piano size (they have fewer octaves -- fewer black and white keys).

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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Four-Finger Major 7th Chords Fingering

1
Learn to use 7th chords which are four-note chords: The following fingerings work for all major 7th and minor 7th chords (the 4th finger plays a musical 7th) on the keyboard.^{[7]
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- For example: G7 Chord is found by counting from G as 1st on "the circle of notes" then 1st-3rd-5th-7th makes that G-B-D-F: see that all have an interval of one, one skipped note.
"Pinkie - G, middle finger - B, index finger - D and thumb - F".
"Thumb - G, index - B, middle - D and pinkie - F".^{[8]
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Question

How do I play the middle C on the piano?

Melissa McDermott
Designer & Social Media Manager
Melissa McDermott is a Musician and accomplished Social Media Manager at coBranding Studio based in New York City. She has over seven years of experience teaching piano and music theory, she currently works as a Piano Instructor at O DiBella Music Inc. Additionally, she specializes in creating meaningful, informative, and quality social media content for health and wellness brands and musicians. Melissa received her B.A. in popular music studies from William Paterson University.

Melissa McDermott

Designer & Social Media Manager

Expert Answer

You can look for the company's name on the piano right above the keys. Middle C should be right below the first letter of the company's name, or at least close to that.

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What best practices can you recommend when starting out and learning piano?

Cuong Nguyen
Music Teacher
Cuong Nguyen is a Music Teacher and the Co-Owner of both OC Musica and the Huntington Beach School of Music. He has been teaching music for over 45 years and has extensive knowledge in music teaching pedagogy. He and his team of over 20 professional instructors specialize in teaching piano, voice, guitar, violin, brass, and woodwind instruments. Cuong is the 1984 winner of the Yoshiro Irino Memorial Prize in Composition. He received his Bachelor of Music with Honors from the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Cuong Nguyen

Music Teacher

Expert Answer

Aside from learning with your hands and figuring out finger positioning, I recommend learning and listening by ear. There's a ton of content online, especially on YouTube, where you can watch someone play the piano and listen and learn by hearing.

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Can you recommend an easy song to learn piano?

Cuong Nguyen
Music Teacher
Cuong Nguyen is a Music Teacher and the Co-Owner of both OC Musica and the Huntington Beach School of Music. He has been teaching music for over 45 years and has extensive knowledge in music teaching pedagogy. He and his team of over 20 professional instructors specialize in teaching piano, voice, guitar, violin, brass, and woodwind instruments. Cuong is the 1984 winner of the Yoshiro Irino Memorial Prize in Composition. He received his Bachelor of Music with Honors from the Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Cuong Nguyen

Music Teacher

Expert Answer

It would be Mary Had a Little Lamb without the G. I recommend limiting it to the three notes. Instead of going up to the G note, Mary Had a Little Lamb, which will require going up to the G, you only go with note E. You only need to learn three notes for this exercise.

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Notice your fingers are actually "digits" and that the numerals are "digits" as well. Dig... it: digit; so can ya dig that.

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You can think of the simple numbering with "right" hand: "1, 3, 5" as being the same shape as the "left" was "5, 3, 1" (of course "1, 3#, 5" compares to "5, 3#, 1", yet the shape is the same).

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