Nathaniel School of Music

Guitar-Style Piano Accompaniment: Syncopated Block Chords and Ghost Notes

To make piano accompaniment sound like a strumming guitarist, play the first chord of each bar on the downbeat and push the second chord early to the 'and' of beat 2, creating a 3 + 5 quaver syncopation, then add ghost notes, grace-note glides, imagined drum hits and short fillers.

Video lesson by Jason Zac · Intermediate · 24 min

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Key points

This lesson by Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music shows how to make a piano sound like a singer-songwriter guitarist, the kind of strumming groove heard in many John Mayer and Ed Sheeran songs. It is for pianists who can already play basic triads and want an accompaniment that grooves rather than marches. The idea is to copy what a guitar player does, then add what a pianist does: bass, a little melody and a sense of the drums.

The chord progression

The lesson is in D major (two sharps, F# and C#), using a progression inspired by Waiting on the World to Change:

Each chord lasts two beats, so there are two chords in every bar. That means you need efficient inversions.

Step 1: Roots and smooth inversions

Play the chord roots in the left hand: D, B, G, D, A, B, G, D. In the right hand, keep the chords in and around middle C or C#. Staying low keeps you out of the singer's upper register, so you do not distract from the vocal.

Start with D major in second inversion (A D F#) in the right hand; it keeps you close to the bass and makes the following changes easy. Be careful not to put A in the left hand, or you get D/A rather than D major.

First play every chord as a minim, on beats 1 and 3.

Step 2: Push the second chord early

Playing strictly on 1 and 3 sounds like a march. Instead, keep the first chord of each bar on beat 1 and play the second chord on the 'and' of beat 2, not on beat 3. This alone creates the guitar-style syncopation. Keep it laid-back, with a little swing feel.

Step 3: Add snaps

For extra groove, snap your fingers on beat 4, or on both 2 and 4. At a gig you can hold the chord with the sustain pedal and snap, giving yourself percussion.

Step 4: Left-hand ghost note

Let the left hand add a light extra note around the end of the bar leading back to beat 1, so the snap feel moves onto the piano itself.

Step 5: The 3 + 5 beat division

Divide the bar into eight quavers. Because the second chord arrives on the 'and' of 2, the first chord gets three quavers and the second gets five. Count 1 2 3, 1 2 3 4 5. For a busier, more energetic version, play steady quaver block chords with accents on that 3 + 5 shape. You now have two patterns: the laid-back one and this accented, more staccato one.

Step 6: Gliding grace notes

To sound more human, slide from a scale note into a target chord tone, usually the third. For D major, glide from E into F#, much like a guitarist's hammer-on. Stay diatonic; sliding from a bluesy note sounds out of style here. An occasional chromatic slide is fine, but it suits blues or gospel more. You can even relax your inversions so the gliding melody shines through.

Step 7: The ghost drummer

Always imagine a drummer playing with you. It gives a singer confidence in you, and if you accompany yourself it frees you to focus on singing. Use your spare right-hand fingers to tap out the drum hits you hear in your head, while the pinky keeps holding the chord note rather than lifting.

Step 8: Country-style fillers

Depending on the vocal line, add short fills between chords: sixth intervals moving from A to Bm (V to vi), a little slide over G to D (a plagal cadence), and close thirds, octaves or sixths between D and Bm. Avoid anything too bluesy. Once you like a fill, template it across the progression.

How to practise

  1. Loop the progression with minims until the inversions are smooth.
  2. Move the second chord to the 'and' of 2 and count the 3 + 5 quavers aloud.
  3. Add snaps, then the ghost note, then glides, one at a time.
  4. Finally add drum hits and fillers, but return to the simple pattern often; it still works.

Questions about this lesson

How do I make piano accompaniment sound like a guitar strum?

Play the first chord of the bar on beat 1 and push the second chord early to the 'and' of beat 2. This gives the bar a 3 + 5 quaver split that sounds like a singer-songwriter guitar groove instead of a march.

What chord progression is used in this lesson?

It uses D, Bm, G, D (I vi IV I) and a variation A, Bm, G, D (V vi IV I) in D major, with each chord lasting two beats.

Where should my right hand play when accompanying a singer?

Keep it in and around middle C or C#, using efficient inversions such as D major in second inversion (A D F#). Playing high invades the singer's register and distracts from the vocal.

What is the gliding technique on piano?

It is a quick slide from a scale note into a chord tone, usually the third, such as E into F# on a D major chord. It imitates a guitarist's hammer-on and should stay diatonic unless the style is blues or gospel.

Practise it

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