What to play with the left hand as a beginner

The left hand rarely plays the tune. Its job is to give the harmony, the chord under the melody, and to keep the beat. So the first question is not “which notes?” but “which chord?”. Here is a short original tune in C major, with its chords: C | Am | F G | C. Each bar lasts four beats; in the third bar, F and G get two beats each.

Listen to the right hand alone first. On the strong beats the tune uses notes of the chord below it: E, G and C over C, then E, C and A over Am. That is what lets a simple left hand fit underneath.

The simplest left hand plays a single note per chord: its root, the note that gives the chord its name. C under C, A under Am, and so on. Play it low, on the first beat of the chord, and hold it while the right hand moves.

It looks too easy, but it is already the whole method: learn each hand on its own, then put them together very slowly. Use the three versions below in that order.

An octave is two notes with the same name, the second one eight white keys up, counting the first: C and the next C. Play them together with the thumb and the little finger. The bass sounds fuller, and striking it on beats 1 and 3 gives the music a steadier pulse.

The hand keeps the same shape for the whole piece: once the octave is open, you only move it from root to root. Look at where the hand goes next, not at your fingers.

A broken chord plays the notes of the chord one after the other instead of together. A common pattern for the left hand is 1-5-8-5: the root, the fifth (five white keys up, counting the root), the octave, then the fifth again. Over C, that gives C, G, C, G.

Now the left hand moves on every beat, so the music flows without stopping. In the third bar, where F and G only last two beats each, the pattern shrinks to root and fifth. Start slowly with the tempo slider: the two hands must stay in step.

None is better than the others. The held bass leaves the most room for the tune and is the easiest to coordinate. Octaves give weight and a clear pulse. The broken chord adds movement, but asks for more independence between the hands. Many pieces use one in the verse and another later, to make the music grow.

Before checking with your ears, guess from the description: which one would you pick for a quiet ending? For a lively part? Then train your ear with the questions below.

The broken chord is a first step into arpeggios, the subject of the guide on piano arpeggios. To play the chords themselves in the right hand, start with your first chord progression.