7 Great Sounding Chords | 3 Simple Hand Positions

As much as I enjoy teaching the concept of chords, I often forget how satisfying it can be to learn a simple hand position at the piano and apply it to any key of music. In this article, I want to share with you three different chord hand positions.

Even though I'm referring to this concept as chord hand positions, they're actually simple voicings that you can play in any key using almost identical fingerings. Let's take a look at them.

These 3 simple chord hand positions can actually spell out 7 different chords because you can apply the diatonic tones in the bass to the chords that fit them.

The diatonic tones in a key of music are of course the 7 different notes in the key. For example, C Major.

In our right hand, we'll look at the 3 different chord positions in the key of C Major. We'll also include the corresponding bass note with these chords.

1 The first chord is C Major in what is commonly known as 2nd inversion. In our left hand, we'll add C (the root of C Major) as the bass note.

2 Our Second chord is F Major in 1st inversion. In our left hand, we'll add D as the bass note. This bass note defines this chords as a D minor 7 chord.

3 We're back to the first chord. C Major in 2nd inversion. This time, we'll play it over E as the bass note. This is still a C Major chord but without the root in the bass.4 Our fourth chord is F Major again in 1st inversion. In our left hand, we'll play F in the bass. This is just a simple F Major chord.

5 Our fifth chord is G major in root position. This is the most basic triad out of these chords. The left hand has G in the bass also.6 Our sixth chord is the C Major again in 2nd inversion. We'll play A in the bass which defines it as an A minor 7 chord.

7 Our seventh chord is the G Major in root position again. We'll play B in the bass. This is still a G Major chord but without the 3rd in the bass.