Being able to quickly identify and play chords is a fundamental skill that is used over and over in piano playing.
I shared this Crazy Chord Challenge a few years ago. It is one of the options for the Keyboard Skills Challenge. This updated post includes some video samples. Students can choose the pace they want to play as long as they complete each challenge in less than a minute.
To prep them for the challenge, I demonstrate while chanting the chord categories as I play. "Va-ni-lla (C), "Or-e-o" (Db), "Ham-bur-ger" (D), etc.). Being able to see the color patterns on the keyboard and feel them under their fingers quickly really boosts the ease of playing chords from written notation later on.
Challenge 1
Can you play all of the Major chords Broken style Hands Separate (Left than Right) Moving Chromatically Up the Keyboard in Less than 1 Minute?
Challenge 2
Can you play all of the Major chords, Broken style, Hands Together, Moving Chromatically Up the Keyboard in Less than 1 Minute?
Challenge 3
Can you play all of the Major chords Block Style, Hands Separate (Left than Right), Moving Chromatically Up the Keyboard in Less than 1 Minute?
Challenge 4
Can you play all of the Major chords Block Style, Hands Together (Left than Right), Moving Chromatically Up the Keyboard in Less than 1 Minute?
Challenge 5
Can you play all of the Major chords Block Style, Hands Separate (Left than Right), Moving Chromatically Down the Keyboard in Less than 1 Minute?
Challenge 6
Can you play all of the Major chords Block Style Hands Together (Left than Right), Moving Chromatically Down the Keyboard in Less than 1 Minute?
Challenge 7
Can you play one of the above challenges but using Minor Chords instead?
Hint: move your 3rd finger one note to the left (flat)
Challenge 8
Can you play one of the above challenges with Eyes Closed?
For a more difficult challenge, students who have already mastered root chords could play inversions or I-IV-I-V-I chord progressions with a longer time limit!
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