The Daily Piano Chord Exercise: Climbing Inversions With Many Rhythm Patterns
This daily piano drill moves three-note chord shapes up and down the keyboard in C major, then plays them as block chords, broken chords, arpeggios and a broken-arpeggio combo, across different speeds, time signatures, syncopated hand patterns and finally in the left hand.
Key points
- The drill trains moving three-note chords up and down the keyboard, not just melodic runs.
- Start in C major on E G C, keep the shared middle note steady, then transpose to other keys.
- Play the chords as blocks, broken (outside-inside), arpeggios (high-middle-low-middle) and a combo of the two.
- Vary the speed of chord changes and try 3/4, 6/8, fives and sevens.
- Finish with syncopated hand patterns and by moving the chord system to the left hand.
What this exercise teaches
Most piano drills move your fingers melodically, through scales, runs and arpeggios. This lesson from Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music trains the opposite skill: moving harmony, stacks of notes played together, up and down the keyboard. It suits beginners who have never done a chord-movement drill and players who already use other exercise books and want something new.
The lesson is shown in C major, but you are encouraged to transpose it to other keys once you know it.
Step 1: Learn the climbing chord movement
Every chord has three notes, named from lowest to highest. Some are standard triads and some are less traditional shapes, but all are easy to play. The first chord is C major in first inversion: E G C, played slightly low on the keyboard. The next few chords keep G as a common note in the middle while the outer notes move around it. After the short group of chords, you jump your hand up and repeat the movement higher, then come back down.
As you play, listen to the top note of each chord. Those top notes form a melody, and singing them helps you hear where you are.
What the left hand does
Almost any note from the C major scale works as a bass note under these chords, because most of them sit happily over the white notes. If you want to keep it simple and safe, just hold C in the left hand.
Step 2: Change chords at different speeds
- Semibreve shifting: change chord every four beats.
- Minim shifting: change chord every two beats.
- Pulse shifting: change chord on every beat. This is the trickiest.
Step 3: Rhythm patterns for the right hand
Broken chords
Play in quavers (eighth notes). Use an outside, inside pattern: the outer two notes together, then the middle note alone. It is the same chord, simply split into outer pair and inner note.
Arpeggios
Break the chord completely: high, middle, low, middle. Hold the top note with your little finger so the melody rings out. When you jump to the next chord, use the sustain pedal to keep it smooth, or move your hand quickly.
Combo pattern
Combine the two: start with the broken pattern, which begins with two notes together, and follow it with the arpeggio pattern.
Step 4: Try different time signatures
Once you know the block, broken and arpeggio versions, play them in as many metres as you can:
- 4/4, the starting point.
- 3/4, counting one-and-two-and-three-and. You can also feel it as 6/8 with different phrasing.
- Groups of five.
- Seven, broken into accents of 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3.
The combo pattern is useful here. Put the moments where two notes sound together on the accented beats.
Step 5: Syncopation between the hands
Keep C in the left hand and the chords in the right, and create a drum-style pattern. One pattern from the lesson is left, right, right, left, right, left, right, right, played over 4/4 while the right hand works through the chord sequence.
Step 6: Move the chords to the left hand
Finally, play the whole chord system in the left hand while the right hand plays a melody, such as the top notes of the chords. Because one note stays the same throughout, the fingering needs care. In the left-hand version, notes such as C and then G act as an anchor that the other notes move around.
How to practise
- Learn the chord movement slowly in the right hand.
- Play it as block chords at semibreve, minim and pulse speeds.
- Add broken, arpeggio and combo patterns.
- Explore 3/4, 6/8, fives and sevens.
- Add the syncopated hand pattern, then switch the chords to the left hand.
- Transpose everything to other keys.
Questions about this lesson
What should my left hand play during this chord exercise?
Almost any note of the C major scale works as a bass note under these chords. To keep it simple, just hold C in the left hand.
How do I play the broken chord pattern?
Play in quavers using an outside-inside pattern: the two outer notes of the chord together, then the middle note on its own.
What is the arpeggio pattern used in this drill?
Play high note, middle note, low note, then middle again. Hold the top note with your little finger so the melody sings, and use the pedal or a quick hand jump between chords.
How do I play the exercise in 7/8 or other odd time signatures?
Break larger groups into smaller accents. For seven, count 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3, and place the two-note moments of the combo pattern on the accents.
Practise it
- Rhythm TeacherBuild accent patterns, divide beats and explore odd metres and polyrhythms.
- Pop LessonsPractice companions for Jason Zac’s pop piano lessons: octave fillers, chord changes and inversions in every key.
- Piano classes at Nathaniel School of MusicLive online or in Bangalore, with a teacher.
- All free music apps40 practice tools for harmony, rhythm, ear training and more.
Related lessons
- 10 Rhythm Patterns That Make Chord Inversions EasyTo make chord inversions musical, play the root position, first inversion and second inversion of a triad such as Bb major or C major through real rhythm patterns like block chords, oom-pah, waltz, broken chords, arpeggios, the tresillo, the Charleston, dual-speed arpeggios and floating inversions.
- 3 Beautiful Piano Arpeggio Patterns (for Any Genre)Three go-to piano arpeggio patterns are low-middle-high-middle (LMHM), high-middle-low-middle (HMLM) and high-low-middle-low (HLML), played as eighth notes in the right hand over close chord inversions while the left hand plays the root of each chord.
- Make Chord Practice Fun With the Circle of Fifths (Part 1)To practise major chords around the Circle of Fifths, play all 12 triads moving clockwise (the plagal direction) and anticlockwise (the authentic direction), keeping the common note and sliding the other two notes, then turn it into a rhythm workout by shrinking the arpeggio cycle from 8 beats down to 3 while the metronome stays at the same tempo.
- The Only Left-Hand Piano Arpeggio You Need (Works on Any Song)Play each left-hand chord as low, high, middle, high in steady eighth notes (two cycles per bar), use inversions so the chords move smoothly, and then improvise a right-hand melody using chord tones, the pentatonic scale, singing, or small scale shapes.