The Two-Hand Piano Scale and Chord Exercise (Speed Up Your Practice)
This combo piano exercise has the right hand play a 1-2-3-1 melodic pattern through the C natural minor scale while the left hand plays the scale's roots, thirds, fifths, diatonic triads or seventh chords, so both hands train scales, intervals and harmony at the same time.
Key points
- C natural minor is C D Eb F G Ab Bb: a major scale with flat 3, flat 6 and flat 7.
- Write scales in a circle to find thirds, fifths and chords easily.
- The diatonic chords are Cm, Ddim, Eb, Fm, Gm, Ab, Bb, or Cm7, Dm7b5, Ebmaj7, Fm7, Gm7, Abmaj7, Bb7 as sevenths.
- The right hand plays a 1-2-3-1 pattern from each degree without repeating fingers on adjacent notes.
- Pick a left-hand level (roots, thirds, fifths, triads or sevenths) to match your skill and train both hands at once.
What this lesson teaches
In this lesson Jason Zac of Nathaniel School of Music shows a combo exercise that trains two skills at once: a melodic scale pattern in the right hand and diatonic harmony in the left. Think of it like a gym workout that covers upper and lower body together. It works for beginners and intermediate players because the left hand can be made as simple or as demanding as you like.
The key is C natural minor, chosen to get you out of the C major comfort zone.
Step 1: Understand C natural minor
Compared with C major, the natural minor has a flat 3, flat 6 and flat 7. That gives you C D Eb F G Ab Bb. It shares its notes with Eb major, its relative major.
Write the scale in a circle
Grab a notebook and write the seven notes in a circle rather than a line. A circle makes it easy to skip notes and find thirds, fifths and chords. Also draw the keyboard shape of the scale (what Jason calls a piano worm): white keys C, D, then black Eb, white F and G, then black Ab and Bb, back to C. Having this shape in your head lets you find any interval quickly.
Step 2: Build the left-hand options
- Roots: play each scale note one by one, as octaves (pinky and thumb) or single notes. For single notes, use five fingers then cross the middle finger over to continue, and practise both ascending and descending.
- Thirds: from each note, skip one in the circle: C-Eb, D-F, Eb-G and so on.
- Fifths: all are perfect fifths except one. In natural minor the 2nd degree gives a diminished fifth (tritone), D-Ab.
- Triads: a third plus a fifth. The chords are i C minor, ii° D diminished, bIII Eb major, iv F minor, v G minor, bVI Ab major, bVII Bb major.
- Seventh chords: Cm7, Dm7b5 (half diminished), Ebmaj7, Fm7, Gm7, Abmaj7 and Bb7, the lone dominant seventh.
Shortcuts for seventh-chord shapes
- Cm7 and Fm7 share the same keyboard shape (white, black, white, black).
- Ebmaj7 and Abmaj7 also share a shape.
- Bb7 (Bb D F Ab) looks like a boat.
- Dm7b5 and Gm7 are the unique ones to memorise on their own.
Step 3: The right-hand pattern
The right hand plays groups of 1 2 3 1, starting on each scale degree in turn: C D Eb C, then D Eb F D, then Eb F G Eb, and so on up the scale and back down. Returning to the starting note makes it trickier than the more common 1 2 3, 2 3 4 pattern.
Fingering rules
- Never repeat a finger on adjacent notes; at fast semiquaver speeds it becomes unplayable.
- Find the right thumb-crossing points, and do not be afraid to put the thumb on a black key if it helps.
- Test your fingering by playing as fast as you can. If it still works at speed, it is a good fingering.
- Avoid the sustain pedal and any auto-sustain button at first; they hide fingering problems.
Fingering is personal, so experiment. Descending often feels easier than ascending.
Step 4: Put the hands together
Play one left-hand note or chord for each right-hand group, based on that group's first note: C minor under the C group, D diminished under the D group, Eb under the Eb group, and so on. Work through the levels in order: roots, octaves, thirds, fifths, triads, then seventh chords. Move up an octave if the hands feel cramped.
How to practise it
Count yourself in and keep a steady pulse. Start slowly and choose the left-hand level that suits you; if triads are too much, drop to fifths, thirds or single notes. Because both hands work in parallel, you give them equal attention and build hand independence in less time. Once you have written it down and played a few rounds, let it flow freely; the exercise may even spark an improvisation or composition.
Questions about this lesson
What are the triads in C natural minor?
They are C minor, D diminished, Eb major, F minor, G minor, Ab major and Bb major, written i, ii°, bIII, iv, v, bVI and bVII.
Which fifth in the natural minor scale is not perfect?
The fifth built on the 2nd degree, D to Ab in C minor, is a diminished fifth or tritone. All the others are perfect fifths.
How do I know if my right-hand fingering is right?
Avoid repeating a finger on neighbouring notes and test the pattern at your fastest speed. If it still flows evenly at speed without the pedal, the fingering works.
What if seventh chords are too hard in the left hand?
Simplify to triads, and if those are still difficult, use fifths, thirds or just single root notes while the right hand plays the pattern.
Practise it
- PendulumExplore accents, subdivisions, scale patterns and chord movement with Western, Hindustani or Carnatic note names.
- Circle of FifthsExplore the Circle of Fifths through keys, scales, chords and intervals.
- 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.
- Play a Rock Bass Line and Melody at the Same Time on Piano (Hand Independence)To play a rock bass line and melody together on piano, learn an Em7 to A7 chord change with smooth inversions, learn a syncopated left-hand bass line on E F# G A B, add right-hand chords as whole notes, half notes and quarter notes, and then replace the chords with a melody while the bass keeps going.
- 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.
- The 2-5-1 Jazz Piano Chord Progression ExplainedA 2-5-1 (ii-V-I) progression takes the chords on the 2nd, 5th and 1st degrees of a scale; in G major that is Am7 (A C E G), D7 (D F# A C) and Gmaj7 (G B D F#), and in G minor it becomes Am7b5 (A C Eb G), D7 and Gm7 (G Bb D F).