Nathaniel School of Music

5 Beautiful Piano Chord Fills to End Any Rhythm Pattern

Five simple piano chord fills you can play at the end of a bar or cycle are inversion switching, chord-tone arpeggios on the same hand shape, added notes such as add 2, add 4 and add 6, diatonic neighbouring thirds around the chord's third, and octave melodies that land on a chord tone of the next chord.

Video lesson by Jason Zac · Beginner · 25 min

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Key points

What this lesson teaches

In this lesson Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music shows five ways to add short chord fills at the end of a bar or cycle of a steady rhythm pattern. The ideas work across pop, ballads, country, gospel, folk, rock and even children's music. If you know your basic triads and their inversions, this lesson is for you. Intermediate and advanced players can use it to strengthen ideas they already half-know.

The practice progression

Everything is played in D major (two sharps: F# and C#) over this progression:

So the pattern of shapes is second, root, second, root. The left hand simply plays the root of each chord.

The basic ballad pattern

Play four block-chord hits in the right hand and one note in the left hand per bar, counting 1 2 3 4. On the D major shape, use your ring finger for the top note rather than your pinky, so your hand does not bend. When a chord contains black keys, strike them near their front edge, close to the white keys, not deep inside. As an optional extra, the left hand can add an eighth-note ghost-note feel to get the rhythm moving.

The five chord fills

A fill works like a drummer's roll: a steady groove runs, then a fill appears at the end of the bar or cycle. Keep the groove and place the fill there.

1. Inversion switching

On beat 4, move the chord up to its next inversion. It sounds simple but is an excellent drill. In quarter notes you can step through more inversions, and once you are comfortable with eighth notes you can switch faster. Another nice option is to place the inversion change on an offbeat, such as the and of a beat.

2. Chord-tone arpeggios on the same shape

Keep the block-chord hand shape and break it up, for example low, middle, high on the last beats of the bar. You can also descend. A useful trick is to copy the bottom note an octave higher with your pinky, giving you a higher note to start a descending arpeggio. Experiment with how many notes you use: three, four or five. Dividing the beat into semiquavers (1 e and a) opens up many more rhythmic options.

3. Add notes

When there is more going on, add a diatonic note to the chord. On D major:

For example, A major with D added becomes A add 4. You can also run down through these notes as a descending filler, and even combine them as an add 6/9.

4. Neighbouring thirds

This fill is great for bringing out an accent. Find the interval of a third in your chord. In the A D F# shape, A to D is a perfect fourth, but D to F# is the third. Then move to the diatonic thirds just below and above it: C# E below and E G above, staying inside the D major scale (so not Eb). Jason places this movement at the end of beat 2, and with semiquavers you can fit two of them.

5. Octave melodies

When the singer finishes a line and pauses for two or two and a half beats, you have space for a short melody played in octaves, which really stands out when playing with other musicians. Aim to land on a chord tone of the upcoming chord, for example C# going into A major. Landing on D over E minor also works, as it suggests Em7 (E G B D). Hold the sustain pedal during the line but lift it before the chord changes.

How to practise

  1. Loop the progression with the ballad pattern until it is steady.
  2. Add one fill type at a time at the end of each bar.
  3. Move from quarter notes to eighths, then semiquavers.
  4. Record any spontaneous octave line you like so you can reuse it.

Questions about this lesson

What is a chord fill on piano?

A chord fill is a short decorative idea played at the end of a bar or cycle while the main groove stays steady, much like a drummer's fill. It makes an accompaniment sound more polished and memorable.

What is the difference between add 4 and sus4?

An add 4 chord keeps the third and adds the fourth, so D add 4 is D F# A with G. A sus4 chord removes the third and replaces it with the fourth.

What are neighbouring thirds in a piano fill?

You find the third inside your chord, such as D and F# in D major, and move it to the diatonic thirds just below and above, here C# E and E G. It is a good way to accent one point in the rhythm.

Where should an octave fill end?

It should ideally land on a chord tone of the upcoming chord, for example C# when moving to A major. Hold the pedal during the fill but lift it before the chord change.

Practise it

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