Train Both Hands With a Simple Chord Progression and Bass Line (Piano)

To build hand independence on the piano, play a steady quarter-note chord pulse in the right hand (Em, A-E-F#, Am/C, Em in E minor) while the left hand plays a four-note eighth-note bass figure, E F# G E, and shift that figure half a beat at a time through all eight positions in the bar.

Video lesson by Jason Zac · Beginner · 23 min

Can't see the video? Watch it on YouTube.

What this lesson teaches

This piano exercise from Jason Zac at Nathaniel School of Music works on hand independence in a slightly different way. The right hand keeps a fixed chord progression as a steady pulse, while the left hand plays one short bass motif that is displaced through every eighth-note position in the bar. It suits beginners who can already play simple chords and are ready to make their hands do different things at the same time.

The idea behind it is that the pulse is how the body naturally moves to music. If one hand holds that pulse firmly, the other hand can learn to play against it.

Step 1: The right-hand chords in E minor

The lesson uses the key of E minor (E F# G A B C D E, the natural minor, relative of G major with one sharp). There are four chords, each played four times as quarter notes, one per beat:

1. E minor, second inversion: B E G
2. A E F#: an unusual, suspended-sounding chord, a bit like an E chord with both the 2nd (F#) and 4th (A) and no third
3. A minor, first inversion: C E A, with the root on top
4. E minor again: B E G

Play the chords with a short, staccato, synth-like touch reminiscent of 1980s glam rock. For more flow, try making the last hit of each chord legato instead.

Step 2: The left-hand bass figure

The left hand uses only the first three notes of the E natural minor scale in a four-note pattern: E F# G E. All four notes are quavers (eighth notes). Count each beat in two: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and.

In the first variation the figure fills 1 and 2 and, leaving 3 and 4 and empty. Those empty spots are what the rest of the lesson goes on to use.

Step 3: Put the hands together

• Sing the bass line first while counting, before you play it.
• Bring the chords back slowly and sing the bass over them.
• If it feels hard, stay on one chord only until the coordination settles, then add the chord changes.
• Then play both hands, singing or counting aloud, and gradually speed up while keeping the right-hand articulation clean.

Step 4: Displace the bass figure

The right hand never changes. The left-hand figure starts half a beat later each time:

1. On beat 1
2. On the and of 1
3. On beat 2
4. On the and of 2
5. On beat 3
6. On the and of 3: the last E now spills over the bar line and lands on beat 1 of the next bar
7. On beat 4: the figure runs into the next bar
8. On the and of 4: the last of the eight eighth-note positions

The later positions feel hardest. That is partly because the two hands strike at different moments, and partly because each hand is playing different information.

How to practise

• Count every subdivision aloud. It can help to count the ands while the right hand plays.
• Sing each new position before you play it.
• Slow everything down. Pausing or slowing the video helps too.
• Once your fingers know the notes, close your eyes and feel the hands colliding on specific beats.
• If counting aloud trips you up when the chords change, feel the beats internally instead.
• Let your body move freely: angle your body, nod your head, sing, whatever helps you lock in.
• Expect the chord notes to get jumbled at first. Pushing through that is the point of the exercise.

To finish, play all eight variations in a row as slowly as you need.

Questions about this lesson

What chords are used in this hand independence exercise?

In E minor, the right hand plays E minor in second inversion (B E G), an unusual suspended-sounding chord A E F#, A minor in first inversion (C E A), and E minor again. Each chord is played four times as quarter notes.

What does the left hand play?

A four-note bass figure, E F# G E, using the first three notes of the E natural minor scale, all played as eighth notes.

What does displacing the bass line mean?

You keep the same four-note figure but start it half a beat later each time: on 1, the and of 1, 2, the and of 2, and so on up to the and of 4. The right-hand chords stay exactly where they were.

What if my hands get mixed up when I try this?

Sing the bass line first, slow down, and stay on one chord until it feels steady before adding the chord changes. Closing your eyes and feeling the beats internally can also help.

Practise it

• Rhythm TeacherBuild accent patterns, divide beats and explore odd metres and polyrhythms.
• Groove MetronomeWork with tempo, accents and polyrhythms instead of a single unchanging click.
• 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

• One Piano Exercise for Scales, Intervals and Chords (E Minor, Both Hands)This combo exercise trains the E natural minor scale with both hands at once: the right hand plays every diatonic interval from seconds to octaves while the left hand supports with roots, octaves, thirds, fifths, triads or seventh chords.
• Stand By Me Piano Tutorial: The Bass Line and Chords in 5 Accompaniment StylesTo play Stand By Me on piano, play the iconic bass riff in your left hand over the chords A, F#m, D and E in A major, using close inversions in your right hand in five styles: block chords, staccato pulse, Clocks-style arpeggios, a flamenco gallop and a melodic counter-line.
• 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 Piano Rhythm Techniques That Make Your Chords GrooveThe 3-3-2 piano rhythm groups eight eighth notes in a bar as 3+3+2, placing the hits on beat 1, the 'and' of beat 2 and beat 4, and you can play it as single chord hits, as accents within continuous eighth notes, or as arpeggios.