04-01-2026, 12:09 AM
(This post was last modified: 04-01-2026, 12:19 AM by Hugh Wallington.)
Chord Fingering TYPE and using a Left Hand Chord
When you use a Left Hand Chord the ‘notes’ you hear are the actual notes you play to form your chord. This is not the case when the keyboard is identifying your chord notes in order to play a STYLE accompaniment. Whatever inversion of the chord you are playing, the keyboard recognises the chord and plays the corresponding STYLE backing .. so what you hear is the same regardless.
Usually, when I play using a STYLE I have a Left Hand Voice allocated. And because of this, the inversion of the chord I play (and where I play it) is really important as it creates the ‘harmony’ behind what you hear.
I would normally set my keyboard up for FINGERED chords ...
Chris Harding has mentioned that he uses SINGLE FINGER Mode when he plays ..
https://chellos-keyboard-players-club.co...3#pid32913
Now this has got me wondering .. what happens with the Left Hand Voice in this situation? If it plays the actual notes you play for your chord, then in SINGLE FINGER mode you would be just playing the note of C for C major; C and a white note below it (eg. B) for C7; and eg. C with a white and a black note below it for Cm7. And what a mish-mash that would sound!
Listen to this DEMO below.
First, in FINGERED Mode, I have played some inversions of the C chord .. CEG; EGC; GCE; and CEG (which is an octave higher than the first one) so you can hear how those harmonies sound as you move progressively up the keyboard (just with the Left Hand Voice selected .. no STYLE).
This is followed, in SINGLE FINGER Mode, by C (major .. ie. just playing the note of C); C7 (ie. playing C and B, the white note below it); then Cm7 (ie. C, B and Bb .. “just 3 fingers, all close together” as Chris puts it).
I have then gone back to FINGERED Mode and played those same combinations of notes I played above.
https://app.box.com/s/i1bhohmdp6exde9601c8fpfghjokzbuy
In the second part of the DEMO (SINGLE FINGER Mode) it is quite clear to me that Yamaha have not played back at me the actual notes I have played .. but first have created the correct harmony for the ‘shortcut’ way of producing the chord. That is very reassuring! So we can use a Left Hand Voice even when playing in SINGLE FINGER Mode.
The last part of the DEMO I played those same ‘shortcut’ notes, but this time in FINGERED Mode. And you can hear quite clearly that that is picking up the actual notes I played.
Hugh
When you use a Left Hand Chord the ‘notes’ you hear are the actual notes you play to form your chord. This is not the case when the keyboard is identifying your chord notes in order to play a STYLE accompaniment. Whatever inversion of the chord you are playing, the keyboard recognises the chord and plays the corresponding STYLE backing .. so what you hear is the same regardless.
Usually, when I play using a STYLE I have a Left Hand Voice allocated. And because of this, the inversion of the chord I play (and where I play it) is really important as it creates the ‘harmony’ behind what you hear.
I would normally set my keyboard up for FINGERED chords ...
Chris Harding has mentioned that he uses SINGLE FINGER Mode when he plays ..
https://chellos-keyboard-players-club.co...3#pid32913
Now this has got me wondering .. what happens with the Left Hand Voice in this situation? If it plays the actual notes you play for your chord, then in SINGLE FINGER mode you would be just playing the note of C for C major; C and a white note below it (eg. B) for C7; and eg. C with a white and a black note below it for Cm7. And what a mish-mash that would sound!
Listen to this DEMO below.
First, in FINGERED Mode, I have played some inversions of the C chord .. CEG; EGC; GCE; and CEG (which is an octave higher than the first one) so you can hear how those harmonies sound as you move progressively up the keyboard (just with the Left Hand Voice selected .. no STYLE).
This is followed, in SINGLE FINGER Mode, by C (major .. ie. just playing the note of C); C7 (ie. playing C and B, the white note below it); then Cm7 (ie. C, B and Bb .. “just 3 fingers, all close together” as Chris puts it).
I have then gone back to FINGERED Mode and played those same combinations of notes I played above.
https://app.box.com/s/i1bhohmdp6exde9601c8fpfghjokzbuy
In the second part of the DEMO (SINGLE FINGER Mode) it is quite clear to me that Yamaha have not played back at me the actual notes I have played .. but first have created the correct harmony for the ‘shortcut’ way of producing the chord. That is very reassuring! So we can use a Left Hand Voice even when playing in SINGLE FINGER Mode.
The last part of the DEMO I played those same ‘shortcut’ notes, but this time in FINGERED Mode. And you can hear quite clearly that that is picking up the actual notes I played.
Hugh
It's all about the music!
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