Piano 101 – Basic Music Theory for Complete

Beginners
To be a good musician you practice music, to be a great musician you must understand theory and
then practice. Therefore, I have taken time to share some basic music theory. These are basic and
not advanced as I do not intend to make learning how to play the piano a theoretical affair.
Practice is still king.
The outline for this module includes
- Scales and Chords
- Inversion of Chords
- Basic Passing chords
- Chord Extensions and Slash Chords
To simplify our study, we would focus on Key C. However, it is important to note that principles
applied in any key can be applied to others. For example, in the key of C, the major scale is C, D, E,
F, G, A, B, C. If you look at your keyboard. You will observe that the distance between C and D is a
whole step and the distance between E and F is a half step. Based on this observation, we can
conclude that the formula for constructing a major scale is WWHWWWH. Now let’s apply this to
another key. Let’s take key D, the major scale for key D based on this formula is D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#,
D. You can try this for all twelve keys, and they work.

Before we go any further, let us define a scale. A scale is a sequence of notes that is
ordered by pitch within an octave. Simply put, it is a sequence of notes arranged such that it can
be used as building blocks for making music. There are variety of scales in music. Apart from the
major scale covered in this module, there are other scales which include the minor scale (could be
natural, melodic or harmonic), pentatonic scale, diminished scale, blues scale etc. We would focus
on the major scale and briefly look into the natural minor scale. The natural minor scale in key C is
C, D, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb, C. The simplest way to construct this is using the formula WHWWHWW
A chord is a combination of three or more notes (the maximum being 7 notes). When a chord is
formed from three notes is called a triad. Since a triad contains three notes, there are 3 ways to play
a triad. These include the root, first inversion and second inversion.
We would discuss inversions later. Chords are at the heart of music. Take for instance this song,
Mary had a little lamb. The chord progression for this song in key C is C major chord, G major Chord
and back to the C major Chord. Often this is played accompanied with the melody notes. But we
would not go into melody notes. I intend to show that all songs have a chord progression. Chord
progression is a series of chord played in a sequence. Each chord has a harmonic function in the key,
and it is important to understand these functions as you become better at playing the piano. In every
key there are three major chords, three minor chords and one diminished chord. The root note,
fourth and fifth note of any key characteristically form major chords, while the 2 nd, 3rd and 6th note
form minor chords while the 7th chord always form a diminished chord.
To construct a major chord, we start from the root, and then the next note is 2 whole steps away
and the third note is 1 and half step away from the second note. For example, the notes in C major
chord are C, E, G. E is 2 whole steps away from C and G is 1 and half step away from E. To construct
a minor chord, we start from the root, and the next note is 1 and ½ step away, while the third note
is 2 whole steps away from the second note. The notes of C minor then are C, Eb, and G. To construct
a diminished chord, we start with the root, and the next note is 1 and ½ step away, while the third
note is also 1 and ½ step away from the second note.
Inversion of Chords or Chord Inversion
This is an extremely important concept in music theory. Chord inversion simply means different ways
of playing a chord. As mentioned earlier, there are three ways to play the triad since it is made up
of 3 notes. Let’s take the C Major chord for example; the notes that make up the C Major chord
include C, E, G. in the root position it is played as C, E, G, and in the first inversion it is played as E,
G, C, and in the second inversion is played as G, C, E. These are three different ways of playing the
C major Chord. Although they are the same chords, there are situations that it is more ideal to use
a specific inversion to create more musical interest. The reason for this would be explained better
in practice.
Basic Passing Chords
Passing chords are chords that are played quickly in between two chords. They fill up the space
between 2 chords and are not necessary but add more musical interest in your play. Passing chords
can be chromatic (outside the key) or diatonic (within the key). Common chromatic passing chords
in Key C include the D major, Ab minor, Ab major, E major, F# minor, etc. We would see more of this
in practice. I have only touched briefly on this. For more information, you can consult some online
resources at the end of this module.
Chord Extension/Slash Chords
Chord Extensions and Slash Chords are often used by most advanced instrumentalist. These are
essential if you want to take your playing to the next level. Since this is a crash course. I will not go
into much details here. Chord Extensions are basically an extension of the triad. You can add extra
notes to the triad to produce seventh (has 4 notes, one extra note has been added), ninth, eleventh
and thirteenth chords (typically has 7 notes, so 4 extra notes have been added). When you apply
chord inversions to the thirteenth chords, you have 7 ways to play that chord and each way having
a distinct texture to it. The advanced players can use a variety of these chords to create a much
richer sound. We would see this in practice. The seventh and ninth chords are common in Jazz music
while the thirteenth chord is common in Gospel. It is important to note that out of chord extensions,
we can also create what is commonly known as altered chords. This is beyond the scope of this
module.
Finally let us talk about slash chords. Slash Chords are chords that are played with bass notes that
are different from the root note. For example, when we play the C major chord, we often play the
accompanying C bass note in the left hand. To play a slash chord, we can play an E or A in the bass.
This gives the chord a different sound and often harmonic function. You can play around with this
concept. Take a major chord and play bass notes other the root note. Listen to how it sounds and
each one that sounds interesting, you can begin to incorporate it into your play. Remember to have
fun while experimenting. We shall see in practice how this can be used to substitute for Chords.
There is another concept called Chord substitution where we begin to dive into tritones and
dominant chords. We shall not go into that but if you like to learn more, I can give you some
resources to learn.

End of Module
Quiz
1. This is an example of slash chord
a. A/C
b. C major chord
c. D major chord
d. E minor chord

2. How many keys are in the piano?

a. 23
b. 12
c. 7
d. 8

3. Which of this is the best definition of a triad?

a. A chord constructed from three notes
b. A chord constructed from three songs
 c. A chord constructed from three or more notes
d. A note that can form 3 chords

4. Which of these statements is false?

a. Passing Chords are only diatonic
b. There are seven ways to play a thirteenth chord
c. The distance between E and G is a 1 and ½ step
d. A whole step is equivalent to two half steps.

5. Which of this is the correct formula for constructing a major scale?

a. WWWWWH
b. WHWHWWH
c. WWWWHHW
d. WWHWWWH

6. Based on the correct formula determined in ques 5, what is the fifth note in key Bb
a. A
b. F
c. G
d. Eb

7. To construct a major chord, we start from the root, and then the next note is 2 whole steps
away and the third note is 1 and half step away from the second note. For example, the notes
in C major chord are C, E, G. E is 2 whole steps away from C and G is 1 and half step away
from E. Based on this information form a F# major Chord.
a. F#, A, C#
b. F#, Bb, C#
c. F#, B, D
d. F, A, C

8. If the chord progression for a song in key C is C major, G major and F major chords, what is
the chord progression for this song in Key F
a. Bb major, F major, and C major
b. F major, C major, and Bb major
c. F major, E major and C# major
d. F major, G major, A minor

9. Using the formula for constructing a melodic minor determine the natural minor of key F
a. F, G, A, Bb, C, D, E, F
 b. F, G, Ab, Bb, C, C#, Eb, F
c. F, G, A, Bb, D, Eb, E, F
d. F, Ab, Bb, C, C#, D, Eb, F

10. Which of these notes respectively characteristically form a diminished and minor chord in
Key D?
a. C# and B
b. C# and G
c. C# and A
d. F# and E

   End of Quiz  

Prepared by Samuel Okereke For Youth Keyboard Students.

This resource was made to be accompanied with an in-class tutorial.

Resources