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In this video I attempt to answer the question as concisely as possible. Are Guitar Chords The Same As Piano Chords?

Notes from an amateur pianist (me):
The video is targeted at people with a limited knowledge of either guitar and/or piano, so some viewers may feel that the information is too basic. The subject is fascinating to me, and there is so much that could be talked about. Voicing on a guitar is so variable, being able to choose the same note in different positions based on timbre, adding unison notes, bends, altered tuning etc. Likewise on the piano, given the range of pitch, 10 notes fingered + notes being sustained... there is so much that could be presented. Again, the goal of the video to answer a simple (yet complex) question, give a little bit of insight into how the instruments are played, and hopefully inspire new players to dig a little further if they are interested. Both the Keyboard and the Fret board are wonderful playgrounds for both the intellect and the imagination, so I really do encourage you to dig deeper.

One of the decisions I had to make was on what would be considered a common piano voicing, and more advanced players may disagree with my "basic triad over octaves in bass" decision. I had originally planned on giving a few examples from Beethoven and others to show why this might be considered a "common" voicing, but decided against giving the impression that pianists all play with a 17th/18th sensibility! I decided it was best to keep it simple, and just try to show that voicings are more likely the result of thinking about the role of a chord in a song (and the role of the instrument in a performance).

In the end I took the view that this question is probably being asked by a "casual player" who sees chords on the guitar as "shapes" without knowing how they are constructed. As for the piano, I think the equivalent "casual player" might be one who started off taking lessons and largely plays what is written on sheet music (in the western tradition), but doesn't yet think about chordal voicing, and wasn't introduced to the instrument as a chord-making-machine in the way that a guitar is quite often introduced to new players. Of course a casual player who took an early interest in Jazz (or even Rock), might have a very different view point, where chord voicing might be a fundamental part of understanding either instrument from the very beginning.

Thank you for watching!