The secret to improvisation and playing freely on the piano or keyboard is knowing your chords and harmonies well.

Step 1

The steps to all these skills is firstly to know a good repertoire of chords.

Yes, start with major and minor, and these are the basics.

Then get familiar with this list of piano chords:

Let’s take the example of C:

C major 7th

C minor 7th

C sus2

C sus4

C6

C minor 6

C9

C major 9

C minor 9

C9 sus

C11

C13

C dim

C dim 7

C aug

C7 diminished 5 (or flat 5)

C7 augmented 5 (or sharp 5)

C minor 7 diminished 5 (or flat 5)

C minor 7 augmented 5 (or sharp 5)

C 7 diminished 9 (or flat 9)

C 7 augmented 9 (or sharp 9)

Step 2

Practice the above with a few different keys.

Do the ones that feel simple to you eg D, F, G, Bb as well as more difficult keys that you usually play with whether it’s Gb or C# etc, just play around to create the right chord…

This is not just a brain exercise to get you used to creating the chords easily, you also get ot know the sounds…

Step 3

Practice with different voicings

Not only with inversions, but also with “phat chords” or “phat voicing” as well which is popular in all kinds of music, from classical, to popular, to gospel to jazz, as this opens up the sound and creates more interest in the sound than simply the notes in successive order.

For example, with a C min 7, play the C and G in the left hand, and an octave above, play the Eb, D.
Step 4

Get to know some typical chord progressions in music and songs.

There are typical progressions, which we’ll talk about in another post.

They are not absolute rules, but they do cover the most common.

So start with the above steps, and go from there…

To find out more, and to learn the fastest way possible, check out Piano Encyclopedia learning method here.

Want to learn piano harmony, and how to improvise and even compose?

Want to learn the chords on a piano, to advanced ones, so that you can play by ear, and to hugely help your improvisation as well?

Then have a close look at the Piano Encyclopedia which does exactly this.

This is the only online course that will teach you the logic behind all the chords and discover the musical progressions used in compositions, and so can compose, improvise and play by ear freely on the piano – an amazing skill to have.

Have a look at this intro video:

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Here’s a harmony and chord lesson for you!

It’s an area of confusion for many people, but with this series it will clear it up for you!

We’ll start with the basics, assuming you know what a major and minor chord already is.

In this lesson, we’re going to look at the Dominant 7th and Major 7th chords.

People get these chords mixed up as the major is the basis of both chords, and mix one up with the other…

So here’s what these chords are:

Dominant 7th Chord

Notation: C7

This chord is made up of: (more…)