# Piano Basics: Learn Notes, Scales & Chords - review & insight | Gareth B. Davies Source: https://garethbdavies.com/course-insights/piano-basics-learn-notes-scales-and-chords/ [← All courses](https://garethbdavies.com/course-insights/) Music & Audio · Quick win · Rated 6 /10 # Piano Basics: Learn Notes, Scales & Chords By Gareth B. Davies · Updated July 2026 Elijah Fox-Peck · Pianist, Songwriter, Producer Beginner · 31 min Thirteen short lessons in 31 minutes turn total blankness at a keyboard into reading notes, building chords, and playing a real progression. [Get a Free Month on Skillshare](https://skillshare.eqcm.net/c/3155494/298081/4650?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.skillshare.com%2Fclasses%2Fpiano-basics-learn-notes-scales-and-chords%2F228833786) New to Skillshare? Your first month is free, enough to take this course at no cost. Elijah Fox-Peck's "Piano Basics" is exactly what its title promises: a fast, hands-on lap around the fundamentals, aimed at someone who has never touched a keyboard with intent. At 31 minutes across 13 short lessons, it moves briskly from finding middle C to playing an original four-chord progression, and it does not pretend to be more than an on-ramp. It is the first entry in a five-part learning path, and it plays that role honestly, closing with a clear pointer to what comes next rather than trying to cram in extra material to feel more complete. ## What the course actually teaches The arc is logical and cumulative. It opens by identifying the C keys by their position relative to the two-black-key grouping, then builds the five-finger C-to-G exercise with the right hand before expanding it into the full C major scale, thumb-crossing technique included. The left hand gets its own lesson, followed by a hands-together drill that is, by the instructor's own admission, the trickiest fingering in the class because each hand crosses at a different point in the scale. From there the course pivots to naming sharps and flats, then strings them together into the chromatic scale with its 1-2-1-2-3-1-2-1-2-1-2 fingering. The back half is where the course earns its keep. Chord construction is taught as a repeatable formula rather than a set of shapes to memorize by rote: a major chord is the root plus four half-steps plus three half-steps, a minor chord flips that to three-then-four. This is demonstrated on C, F, and G major, then C, D, F, and A minor, and framed explicitly as something to internalize as a shape rather than recalculate every time. The circle of fifths lesson follows the same demonstrate-and-generalize pattern, walking from C major (no sharps or flats) up through G, D, and A major while adding one sharp per step, and pointing to a fingering chart in the class resources for practicing all twelve major scales. ## Where it delivers and where it thins out The closing lesson is the practical payoff: a four-chord progression in C major (C, E minor, A minor, F major), played first with the right hand alone, then with a left-hand root-note bassline, then as a simple rhythmic variation. The assignment that follows, build your own three-to-five chord progression from the available chords and post it, gives the class a genuine creative output rather than leaving students with only isolated drills. The trade-off for that pace is that nothing gets much room to breathe. Sight-reading is never addressed, rhythm and timing are not discussed beyond the pedal explanation, and the sustain pedal itself gets only a brief mechanical description with no dedicated practice. The history and mechanics section is a minute of trivia, pleasant but disposable, that trims screen time that could have gone to slower, more repeated practice of the trickiest crossing techniques. As a standalone unit, it works best as a structured checklist a beginner can follow alongside a physical keyboard, pausing constantly to imitate the fingering on their own hands. Anyone who already owns a scale or two, or who has taken even a handful of traditional lessons, will find little new here. For a true first-timer, though, it compresses the first few weeks of typical piano instruction into a tight half hour, provided they treat the class as a starting checklist for daily practice rather than a one-sitting watch. The standout The major-versus-minor chord formula (four half-steps then three for major, three then four for minor) gives a portable rule a beginner can apply to any root note on the keyboard, not just the examples played in class. ## What you will learn - · Locate every C on the keyboard and play the five-finger C-through-G exercise with the right hand - · Play the full C major scale hands separately and hands together with correct fingering, including the thumb-under crossing technique - · Name every sharp and flat and play the full chromatic scale using the 1-2-1-2-3-1-2-1-2-1-2 fingering pattern - · Build any major chord (root, up four half-steps, up three half-steps) and any minor chord (root, up three, up four) by ear and by formula - · Read the circle of fifths to identify how many sharps or flats belong to a given major key - · Assemble and play a four-chord progression in C major with a simple left-hand root-note accompaniment Best for: A complete beginner with access to a keyboard or piano who wants a compact, hands-on run-through of notes, scales, and chords before starting self-guided practice. Skip it if: Anyone who already reads sheet music or knows basic scales and chords, since nothing here goes beyond the fundamentals covered in a first piano lesson. Clarity of Instruction Engaging Teacher Actionable Steps Organization of Lessons [Get a Free Month on Skillshare](https://skillshare.eqcm.net/c/3155494/298081/4650?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.skillshare.com%2Fclasses%2Fpiano-basics-learn-notes-scales-and-chords%2F228833786)