Why Should I Learn to Play Chords?

1 It is incredibly fun and enjoyable.

2 You can improvise music with an understanding of chords.

3 It teaches you to do hard things. Learning many chords in all 12 keys is not easy. It takes months or years of practice to master chords, especially more complex chords.

4 Your friends will think you are awesome, especially if you can play complex chords like a Minor-Major 9(#11) chord.

5 It increases your understanding of music.

6 You could become a composer.  Composers know chords and they aren't afraid to use them.  John Williams knows chords quite well.  Listen to Beethoven to hear some really great chords.

7 It is emotionally satisfying to be able to play chords well. Chords are structured, orderly, and patterned which gives one a feeling of control over the elements.

8 It makes you special or unique when you can play chords, especially cool chords like Major 13(#11) or Minor 6(9).

9 You could teach piano lessons some day and knowing your chords is crucial for a good piano teacher.

10 Chords can give you a better understanding of scales.

11 You will begin to hear relationships between chords and scales. For instance, you may discover that a Dominant 13 chord (C-E-G-Bb-D-F-A) uses the same notes as a Mixolydian scale (C-D-E-F-G-A-Bb).  

12 It helps you learn to stick to something until it's mastered.

13 It increases your ability to enjoy music. As you understand music, you enjoy it even more.

14 It keeps your mind sharp.

15 It increases your memorization skills. When passages in your music are chordal, one need only memorize the chord and not individual notes.

16 Playing chords inspires creativity. When the sound of the chord is in your head, it helps you to use that chord in compositions.

17 It helps you become a life-long learner. There are dozens of chords.  For example, it is a challenge to distinguish between a Dominant 13 chord and a Dominant 13(#11) chord.

18 It makes you a classier person.

19 Playing and discussing chords makes you look smart (which you are if you know and understand chords).

20 People admire people who know chords, especially complex ones.

21 Music is full of chords. If you know chords, musical passages become easier to learn.

22 Studying chords increases your aural (listening) abilities. You'll begin to differentiate between the sound of various chords.

23  Chords set the mood for music.

24 Chords are to music as color is to a visual artist.

25 Chords are the musicians aural palette. Like a painter discovering new, exciting color blends, chords can give the composer and/or improviser many tools and sounds for his/her compositions.

26 Chords are the ingredients for making certain sounds. For example, minor and diminished chords have a more mysterious, sad, or spooky sound.

27 Chords, along with scales, can be used to create melodies.

28 Playing chords increases your muscle memory. After playing a chord for some time, you'll be able to play it without really thinking about it. This increases your ability to play effortlessly.

29 Playing chords will increase your sight reading ability as you will often come across chords in musical passages. For example, when you come across a complex looking chord, if you can put a name to it, your sight reading will be that much easier.

30 Music theory is much easier to learn and understand if you know chords.

The Comprehensive Book of Chords: For Piano and Keyboard Players

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