Gear-shift chords
Quick even chords that skip beat 3, like an engine changing gear. One of the syncopated chord patterns.
How to play it
Find the notes
Put your right hand over a C chord. You need G (thumb, 1), C (middle finger, 3) and E (little finger, 5).
Count and play
Count "1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &" (say "and" for &). Play G, C and E together on 1, 1&, 2, 2&, 3&, 4 and 4&.
Move it with the chords
When the chord changes to G, the same rhythm moves to the notes of G: D, G and B. Play it slowly over the chord loop above, at 60% speed first, then faster.
Songs that use it
Questions
What is Gear-shift chords on piano?
Quick even chords that skip beat 3, like an engine changing gear. Right-hand chords with off-beat pushes. Musicians call it syncopated chords, 1, 1&, 2, 2&, 3&, 4, 4&.
Is Gear-shift chords hard to play?
It is an intermediate pattern. Learn it with your right hand alone at 60% speed first, then play it over a chord loop.
Which songs use Gear-shift chords?
American Idiot by Green Day, Paradise By The Dashboard Light by Meat Loaf and I Can See Clearly Now by Johnny Nash use Gear-shift chords. The songs on this page all use it in the right hand, the most played first.