About this issue
Why this chart.
Just twelve triads — the major and minor versions of the six most common root notes. That's enough harmonic vocabulary to play hundreds of songs, including basically every pop hit of the last 50 years.
We've kept the keyboard rendering as large as possible so you can read it from across the room while sitting at a piano or keyboard. Color bands at the top of each cell group chords by root.
If you've never played piano before: each highlighted key is a note you press. Start by pressing all three highlighted keys at once with your right hand. Find the chord, hold it, listen to it. That's a chord — you're playing it.
How to use it
Print at letter and prop it on your music stand. Find C major, play it with your right hand. Then F major. Then G major. Now you're playing the I-IV-V progression that powers thousands of songs. Add A minor and you've unlocked another thousand.