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• Master Your Primary Chords In C, F, and G Major

Primary chords are chords that reflect the overall quality of the key we're in.

Now, I want you to keep in mind that these two categories come to mind when we're talking about key: major key and minor key.

In the "major" key, our primary chords are definitely going to be major chords. These major chords are of the greatest importance in the major key because they establish the character of the major key.

In today's lesson, I'm going to establish a practice routine that will guide you in your mastery of the primary chords; which are essential harmonic requirements that you can't play in a key without.

Primary Chords In C Major

The primary chords in C major are as follows:

• C major [aka - "the 1-chord"]
• F major [aka - "the 4-chord"]
• G major [aka - "the 5-chord"]

Alright, let's go ahead and practice a "1-5-4-5" progression:

1-chord --> 5-chord --> 4-chord --> 5-chord

...allocating four counts to each chord.

1-chord [4 counts]:

5-chord [4 counts]:

4-chord [4 counts]:

5-chord [4 counts]:

Recommendation: Repeat the 1-5-4-5 progression as many times as possible. 50 to 100 reps are recommended per practice session.

Primary Chords In F Major

Alright, let's head over to the key of F major.

I'm pretty sure you're familiar with the F major scale:

...where the 1, 4, and 5 are F, Bb, and C respectively.

Here are the primary chords in F major:

• F major [aka - "the 1-chord"]
• Bb major [aka - "the 4-chord"]
• C major [aka - "the 5-chord"]

We'll stick to the "1-5-4-5" progression:

1-chord --> 5-chord --> 4-chord --> 5-chord

...allocating four counts to each chord.

1-chord [4 counts]:

5-chord [4 counts]:

5-chord [4 counts]:

5-chord [4 counts]:

Recommendation: Repeat the 1-5-4-5 progression as many times as possible. 50 to 100 reps are recommended per practice session.

Primary Chords In G Major

Let's practice primary chords in the key of G major and we're done.

The primary chords in G major are as follows:

• G major [aka - "the 1-chord"]
• C major [aka - "the 4-chord"]
• D major [aka - "the 5-chord"]

We're not changing anything. It's the "1-5-4-5" progression:

1-chord --> 5-chord --> 4-chord --> 5-chord

...and we're allocating four counts to each chord.

1-chord [4 counts]:

5-chord [4 counts]:

5-chord [4 counts]:

5-chord [4 counts]:

Recommendation: Repeat the 1-5-4-5 progression as many times as possible. 50 to 100 reps are recommended per practice session.

Final Words

Congratulations!

You've practiced your primary chords in C, F, and G major (which is 25% of all the keys on the piano). At this rate, you should master your primary chords in all twelve keys in the not-too-distant future.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post.

Stay the course, keep practicing, and watch out for the next lesson.