How do YOU teach primary chords?

[keyofc]

I'm interested in hearing how each person teaches primary chords.  Do you teach the I, IV, V or the I IV V7?
I know a lot of people teacher playing fg only first for the V7 and add the b later.
I realize it's easier for small hands - but it seems like it would be confusing to the student to call a second a seventh.

How do you all teach them?

[counterpoint]

You mean, left hand playing fg for representing dominant7 chord ( g h d f ) ?
No, I don't do this. To learn chords, you need to know that there are two (or three) thirds and that the lowest note is the base note. And that you can create inversions, when you transpose some of the notes an octave higher. Same for seventh chords.

If you want to play the kids songs they know with a simple accompaniment, I would not talk about chord names but about finger numbers or intervals.

[ramseytheii]

I would write out a scale, and then show how the chords are built on each tone of the scale.  That way, people will also associate them with the key the scale's in.  Each primary chord has to have a specific identity to be remembered, for instance, "A-men" for a IV - I.  For the other chords you should try and find something which can be remembered and identified.  I have some ideas but just let me know if you can't think of anything for the more difficult ones like iii.

Walter Ramsey

[dmk]

I'm interested in hearing how each person teaches primary chords.  Do you teach the I, IV, V or the I IV V7?
I know a lot of people teacher playing fg only first for the V7 and add the b later.
I realize it's easier for small hands - but it seems like it would be confusing to the student to call a second a seventh.

How do you all teach them?

I always thought that the third of the chold (in this case the B) was the definer of its tonality (ie major/minor), particularly at this rudimentary level so how can you leave it out???

At the very least you would teach FGB, small hands or not

cheers

dmk

[timothy42b]

I'm interested in hearing how each person teaches primary chords.  Do you teach the I, IV, V or the I IV V7?
I know a lot of people teacher playing fg only first for the V7 and add the b later.
I realize it's easier for small hands - but it seems like it would be confusing to the student to call a second a seventh.

How do you all teach them?

The beginner method books mostly have B-F-G.  They don't do other inversions until much later.  My daughter didn't have trouble with the reach, though I'm not sure how well she understood the concept. 

The full V7 would be B-D-F-G, right?  That is an awkward reach for kids, and it makes sense to omit the fifth until later. 

[amanfang]

I generally teach the chords by rote first, and label them as both C and G7, and I and V7.  I pick a simple familiar song and harmonize it, and perhaps have them listen for when I use C(I) and when I use G(V7).  Then I give them a simple melody and have them harmonize it, using simple principles for harmonization.  After a week or two of this as they've been playing it and experiencing it some, then I will explain the theory behind it - building chords on scale degrees and inverting them to get the most efficient movement, etc.   I want some of the chord playing to be somewhat automatic, so that when they see it in pieces, they can recognize it and play it.

[a-sharp]

I teach the concept as stated above - building the triads above the notes of the scale - but usually V7 comes a little later - and

The beginner method books mostly have B-F-G.  They don't do other inversions until much later.  My daughter didn't have trouble with the reach, though I'm not sure how well she understood the concept. 

ditto that - by the time their playing that it's usually in broken form and not a problem to reach with the left hand [I'm referring to a little waltz piece in the Alfred books]...

[keyofc]

thanks for your posts -
I do teach them with the BFG also
but I have some friends that don't
and wondered how most people here do it.

I think playing FG only is cheating them a little

[urbanspice]

I teach chords starting from the third lesson, with C Chord.  Students know about steps and thirds from lesson two and learn about 2nds and 3rds on lesson three. Teaching them the C Chord is pretty easy. From there, they learn all 12 I chords. I teach by patterns:

C,F,G = all white keys
A,D,E = one black key in the middle
A, D, E Flat = Black - white - black
B-Flat  and B Chord= Black-white-white \ White - Black - Black  - The trick I tell my students to remember B-Flat chord and the B Chord, is if you know what color the first key is then the other two keys are the opposite color. Ex. B-Flat is a black key so everything else is white.
Last is G-Flat (no F# yet) - all black keys.
Teaching chords this way is quite simple. Once they know all the chords ( they learn a group of three each week) then we move on to minor and V7 chords. We discuss half steps -- no whole steps yet. And soon I have them harmonizing pieces like Mary had a little lamb and Mary lost a little lamb (same song, but in minor) in all twelve keys (major and minor), either by transposing or using simplified non-notated sheets with the melody and chord symbols. After the student has I, i, and V7 done, they move to IV6/4, iv, ect. If they have a good foundation with I chords, then all the other chords come easy. The chords are all learned from the base or I chord.

As for G7 with small fingers, I always teach the regular version first. Then if I see that they are struggling, I ask them if they want the easy version. Some say yes, some say no. But either way, they know they are playing the easy version and not the regular version.

Students love doing chords, especially when they can play songs they like and if you make a game of it. After my students learn their I chords, we play the "Circle of 5ths" It's a timed game where the students, starting on the lowest chord C of the piano, play each chord going up a fifth each time. Kids loved to be timed, and it gives them a bit of self-competition as they try to beat their own scores. I'm always being "harrassed" to time everything, from taking about books to playing warm-ups!

[pianistimo]

duets might be a good way to start introducing chords. then they can focus on them and if they have small hands - break up the chords in some way.

also, at the very very beginning - perhaps starting with thirds (as someone above mentioned).  that is the basis for all chords.  if they understand the pattern of 1 1/2 steps for minor third and 2 whole steps for a major third - then they can build the chords like blocks.  perhaps with very young children - just using the fifths in the left hand (pinky thumb) and third in the rh or something.  or, just play around.  you could actually teach some kind of alberti bass with lh 5, 1  rh 3    lh 1,5,1      rh 3... repeat

heart and soul with thirds instead of full chords at first?  anyways - duets. 

[lostinidlewonder]

Don't ever neglect the circle of 5ths I find it really allows students to play chords and their variations with a logical sound movement. Observing pattern like the Black and Whites are good but you must relate it to how the hand feels. Does it expand or contract, feel stretched or squashed in certain parts, all these senses of the hand are important physical experiences chords give us. Also you must get the student to know what a major chord sounds like as opposed to the variations of other chords (eg: A minor sounds sad opposed to the happy major). I also refer any changes in a chord to the major chord structure. So eg: if teaching minor chords you relate it to the difference it has over a major, i.e: the 3rd is flattened.

Chords are telegraph poles and the wires inbetween them are the melody, I like to give that analogy to students too. The challenge when composing or even playing other peoples music is to understand these poles so that the direction of the wiring makes sense not the other way around. Chords always come first.

For beginners who have little or no control over their fingers I definatly get them playing triads straight away, even though it feels awkward to them, there is no point giving them 2 notes to control because it simply does effectively induce control over groups of notes at a time. Being able to play groups of notes with one position of the hand is the most basic element of piano playing that all beginners must be thrown into ready or not.

When reading chords or playing them I ask students to always take care of the maximum and minimum points of the chord and then work out the centre. Usually the centre comes natrually, but the outer bounds of a chord must be read first and the hand must take that position. This allows students to usually learn to read less notes on the sheet music, also they may "fill in the gaps" with their own musical logic as to what chord would sound right connecting with the melody.