Piano chord
C Piano Chord
C is a major chord rooted on C. The bright, settled sound at the centre of Western music. A root, a major third and a perfect fifth — nothing pulling anywhere.
The notes
3 notes. Every inversion below is these same notes in a different order.
How to play it
Root position first, then each inversion. Numbers next to each note are right-hand fingers — 1 is the thumb. Tap a key to hear it, or play the whole chord.
The root is on the bottom — planted and stable.
3 in the bass — same chord, new posture.
5 in the bass — same chord, new posture.
Which inversion should you use?
Whichever one your hand is already near. Inversions exist so consecutive chords can share keys — instead of jumping the whole hand to a new root position, you move a finger or two and the chords melt into each other. That is most of what separates piano playing that sounds smooth from piano playing that sounds like a series of separate grabs.