My Chord Finder
ROUTE A
Every chord from its root
Keep all three right-hand notes in root position. This makes the chord spelling easy to see.
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PLAY THE ANSWER
Piano Chord Progressions
Chords, keys and two-hand notes in one place.
Start with C–G–Am–F
Play one chord for four beats. Your left hand plays the root below middle C; your right hand plays the three notes shown. Repeat the four chords without stopping.
| Bar | Chord | Left hand | Right hand, low to high |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | C | C3 | C4 · E4 · G4 |
| 2 | G | G2 | B3 · D4 · G4 |
| 3 | Am | A2 | C4 · E4 · A4 |
| 4 | F | F2 | C4 · F4 · A4 |
C4 is middle C. The right-hand notes are a suggested arrangement of each chord; the left-hand root keeps the overall bass on the named chord. These are note names, not finger numbers.
ONE HARMONY, TWO KEYBOARD ROUTES
Hear the hand movement
Same chord order and bass. Only the right-hand placement changes.
ROUTE B
Keep nearby notes nearby
Leave shared notes where they are and move the other right-hand notes to a close chord shape.
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Choose a route to hear four chords. Sound is generated in your browser.
Notes to play
The measured changes in C–G–Am–F
Across these four chords, the aligned right-hand voices travel 31 semitones in root position and 9 in the close route.
| Change | Root route | Close route | Close-route shared key |
|---|---|---|---|
| C → G | 15 | 3 | G4 |
| G → Am | 5 | 5 | None |
| Am → F | 11 | 1 | C4 and A4 |
| Whole route | 31 | 9 | 22 fewer semitones |
The C-to-G move drops from 15 to 3 semitones while G4 stays on the same key. The G-to-Am move ties at 5 semitones, so the close route does not reduce every individual change. The Am-to-F move drops from 11 to 1 semitone because C4 and A4 stay put.
For C-to-G, the root route moves each right-hand voice down five semitones; the close route moves the low voice down one, the middle down two, and the high voice not at all. For Am-to-F, root positions move the three voices by four, three and four semitones, while close voicings move them by zero, one and zero. Those two boundaries account for the full 22-semitone difference because G-to-Am ties.
On the G bar, the root route uses G3, B3 and D4 in the right hand; the close route uses B3, D4 and G4. G2 remains in the left hand in both versions, so the named chord is still G. Keeping that bass and the four-beat timing fixed isolates right-hand placement as the one changed variable.
These totals align the low, middle and high right-hand notes one to one between adjacent chords. Changing that alignment would change the number.
The movement total adds the absolute semitone changes of the three right-hand voices between adjacent chords. It measures keyboard travel for these specific voicings, not fingering difficulty or which version sounds better. The left-hand notes and timing are identical in both routes.
Change the accompaniment without changing the chords
A progression tells you which harmony arrives next. Your hands still need a playing pattern. Keep C–G–Am–F and the same right-hand notes from the first table. Change only the left-hand job between these two passes.
| Pass | Left hand | Right hand |
|---|---|---|
| Hold the root | Beat 1: C3 | G2 | A2 | F2. Hold each note for its bar. | Play each chord on beat 1. |
| Add the fifth | Beat 1: C3 | G2 | A2 | F2. Beat 3: G3 | D3 | E3 | C3. | Play each chord on beat 1. |
In the held-root pass, C3, G2, A2 and F2 each ring for four beats, making one bass attack per bar. In the second pass, the same roots land on beat 1, then G3, D3, E3 and C3 enter on beat 3 as the fifth above each root. That gives the first pass four left-hand attacks across four bars and the second pass eight. The right hand still enters four times, so the added attacks come from the bass pattern alone. The beat-3 notes change beneath the same right-hand chords, letting you hear rhythm change while the harmony stays fixed.
Count “1, 2, 3, 4” in every bar. When the second pass feels rushed, rehearse only the C-to-G change before restoring all four chords. The chord names stay the same in both passes.
Mark the landing notes
Play only C3, G2, A2 and F2 with the left hand. Say each chord name as the bass changes.
Add the right hand
Put the three right-hand notes over each bass note. Try the close route first at a slow tempo, then compare root positions.
Move one part at a time
Repeat the same four chords with root-and-fifth bass. If a change feels awkward, pause on that pair of chords and keep the other two out of the drill.
Two more piano chord progressions to try
C–Am–Dm–G I–vi–ii–V
Use C3, A2, D3 and G2 in the left hand. The return from G to C makes the loop's restart clear. Compare root positions with close right-hand notes in the exercise above.
Am–F–C–G i–VI–III–VII in A minor
Use A2, F2, C3 and G2 in the left hand. It shares a pitch collection with C major, but beginning on Am shifts the point of departure; the four chords alone do not prove a song's tonic.
Take the next step
Use the Piano Chord Finder to inspect a single chord or compare its inversions. If you want to change the sequence, hear other starting styles, copy chord names or download MIDI, use the Chord Progression Generator. That workbench exports block chords; the right-hand placements in this exercise are separate piano practice examples. For a seventh-chord route with measured voice movement, try Jazz Chord Progressions for Piano.