When to teach chords?

“Harmony is to be explored, not supervised.”

Do you put as much care into teaching chords and harmony as you do with everything else?

Here’s my issue with teaching chords (specifically triads) too early. This concern is especially true for programs that celebrate teaching them from day 1.

You’re introducing 3 notes that students will experience as 1 sound.

That’s backward.

They should experience it as 1 shape with 3 pitches.

People love to teach C, G, Am, F and say you can play thousands of songs. That's not untrue, so long as you don't mind playing them in the most fantastically boring way.

It’s a two-star gimmick that people advertise as a shortcut.

Often step 2 is to add a bass note in the left hand.

That's like building a house and then putting in a foundation.

It's poor construction.

There is no way students will ever experience freedom at their instrument if they're worried about notes, and there's no way a student isn't going to be worried about notes if they start with triads.

It's too much.

It's not about physically being able to push three buttons.

It's more responsibility than their ears can handle.

Harmony is to be explored, not supervised.

Is that checkmate?

I'll entertain anything you disagree with.