How do I play the four chords on the piano?
Play each chord with your right hand, three notes at a time, and play one note with your left hand: the note the chord is named after.
In my first lesson you play the four chords close together, so your hand barely moves:
- C: C, E, G. Thumb, middle finger, little finger.
- G: B, D, G. The thumb slips down one key to B.
- Am: C, E, A. Thumb back on C.
- F: C, F, A. Thumb still on C.
Which song can I play with them first?
In my program the first song is Let It Be by The Beatles. You hold the four chords and change on beat 1, along with the original recording, slowed down at first and then at full speed.
The sample lesson has keyboard diagrams you can tap, four exercises with playback and a play-along song.
What comes after the four chords?
One new shape at a time, always inside a song. By month three you play the seven white-key chords: one hand shape moves up and down the keys, so if you know one chord you know them all.
The whole path is on the year page: twelve months, twelve songs.
More questions
- How much do in-home piano lessons cost in McLean, VA?
- Can you learn piano without reading music?
- Do I need an acoustic piano for lessons, or is a digital keyboard enough?
- What happens at a first in-home piano lesson?
- Is a piano teacher better than a piano app?
- How long does it take an adult to learn to play a song on the piano?
By Eric Imhauser, piano teacher in McLean, VA. Published October 2026.