How do you play piano chords??!!?

Q. I'm a beginner and teaching myself how to play Keyboard/Piano. I've borrowed so many books on the subject but can't figure out piano chords! My understanding is you play 3 notes at once - but its still confusing when looking at people play them on YouTube. Some music have just symbols like E, Dm, etc and lyrics??

Also, I'm trying to play this keyboard version of Hillsong's "This Is Our God" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1jZ1Ux9XOU). The chords listing is:

Intro-verse: E - G#m - C#m - A
Chorus:B - E/G# - A - F#mB/D# - E/G# - A
Instrumental - bridge:E - B - F#m - C#m - A - E (also in video description)

But I can't seem to get around what the left and right hand plays. Plus the video is too fast and unclear to work out the notes :(

Please could someone help me work out what notes to play/how to play them?
Basically, the user gave a list of chord names and I don't know what the left and right hand plays - also on some he doesn't hold 3 down, but alternates between a few!

Thanks

A. To play a piano chord, you need to find out which scale the chord belongs to. For example C chord would belong to the C major scale and Cmin chord would belong to the c minor scale. Lets use C chord as an example. We start off by playing the C note on the keyboard. Then, we miss a white not, but play the next one. We end up having one white note in between the notes we are playing. You should end up playing an E on a C major chord. Then we miss the next note after E, but play the one after that, G. That is a C or C major chord. However, when it comes to other chords we need to take in the key signature of the scale. C minor has an Eb in the key signature, so instead of playing C E G we play C Eb G. I know that probably made no sense so check out this very helpful website. http://www.8notes.com/piano_chord_chart/
I think you would benefit from piano lessons. A tutor can help you play the song and work out the chords. Hope I helped with my long-winded explanation!

Original Question

Learning Piano Chords?

Q. Where do I begin? Majors? Is there a good free site which has pictures included?
Would it be good to learn scales before chords? Or after?

Thanks in advance

A. I was taught to play piano classically and I'd say if you want to be able to sightread and play classical pieces of music then there's no substitute for learning the scales. It was boring as anything but it'll stand you in good stead when playing piano generally because you'll already know the key signatures/fingering.

However, I know some other types of piano-playing particularly jazz and blues (and to some extent I guess rock) are built more around chords. This method is also supposed to be a fast-track method to learning to play? So if you're wanting to learn more for fun - to play around with songs or maybe write your own then maybe you don't need to know the more "correct" fingerings.

There's plenty of websites out there doing this kind of stuff but be warned a lot of them are trying to sell you something.
I've just had a quick look and I think this is my favourite because it shows you all the variations and how they should sound: http://www.8notes.com/piano_chord_chart/

If you prefer videos this is kind of basic but shows you exactly what you're doing and what fingering etc.
http://www.expertvillage.com/video-series/464_basic-piano-lessons-chords.htm

I think the normal order would be to learn them in the order of fewest sharps and flats so starting with C, G, D, A and F majors and A and D minors. (look at the ABRSM syllabus for the order they teach the scales: http://www.abrsm.org/resources/pianoComplete0608.pdf)

I think if it was me I'd learn both at the same time, so start with a basic scale like C major, and then learn the C major chord at the same time - maybe playing around with some of the variations a bit too.

I'm sure some other people will disagree though and if you're already familiar with music theory or play another instrument pretty well you can probably skip the scales. Or if you're not too serious about piano and doing it just for fun by all means learn the chords.

Original Question

I need help with G minor piano chords?

Q. One of the well known chords in G minor with the piano is GM, E flat, B flat, F. I want the chord to go down again after the B flat instead of up, what chord do I use?

I don't actually play the piano but I know what the chord would sound like, so as you can imagine it would be very hard for me to work out. This is for a composition I am making

Thanks, please note all possible chords that would go down after that!
I'm playing in G minor which isn't jazzy lol, but thanks :)

A. I don't know what you're trying to sound like, but here are some jazzy/gospel sounding chords.

Key: Left Hand / Right Hand

â I would use an Am 7 #5 after the Bb back to the Gm.

Am 7 #5: G-D-F / G-C-F

â Also after the Bb, I would use an A half dim 7 chord back to the G.

LH: A-C# / RH: F#-A-C-Eb

â Or a ii-V-i back to Gm from the Bb.

Am7 b5 â D #5#9 â Gm

Am7 b5: A-C# / G-C-Eb

D #5#9: D-A-C / F#-Bb-C-F

I hope this helps.

Original Question

Title : How do you play piano chords??!!?
Description : Q. I'm a beginner and teaching myself how to play Keyboard/Piano. I've borrowed so many books on the subject but can't figure o...