Why These Chords?

The reason that we’ve chosen to learn the C, F, and G7 chords is that these three chords arecommonly used to accompany many, many songs. In fact, there’s an entire series ofsongbooks published using just these three!

Minor Chords

Before moving on to work on the right hand, try these additional chords for further practice.Notice that the letter m beside a chord name denotes a minor chord. The plain letter (C, G,etc.) denotes a major chord. Major chords tend to sound brighter and more cheerful, whileminor chords have a more melancholy association. Practice in the order Am, Dm, E7, Am.

As you play these chords, try again to see the “family” relationship between them. Noticethat the E7 leads naturally to the A minor. Try to become really familiar with these chords,because we will soon be coordinating them with the right hand to play some songs.

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