# Left hand, right hand, or both

Practice one hand at a time, or both, with the left hand given its own part: the root, octaves, fifths, or the whole chord doubled.

## Which hand is being graded

One setting decides which hand has to play: **any hand** (whichever is more comfortable; this is the default), the **right**, the **left**, or **both**.

To accompany anyone, your left hand needs to know the chords too. Set the hand to left and the same chords come back, but now the left hand has to find them on its own.

![The hand setting: any, right, left or both.](https://pianokitty.com/features/en/hands/hand.webp)

![The keyboard hint with the chord marked in the lower register, for the left hand.](https://pianokitty.com/features/en/hands/left.webp)

## What the left hand plays

With both hands on, the right hand plays the chord and you choose what the left hand has to play:

- **The same notes** — the chord doubled an octave lower.
- **Root note only** — the chord’s root, whatever inversion the right hand is in.
- **Lowest note only** — the bass of this voicing; in first inversion that is the third, not the root.
- **Octaves** — two roots an octave apart, the boom-boom bass.
- **Fifths** — root and fifth.
- **Nothing** — the right hand plays alone.

![The "left hand plays" setting with its options: same notes, root only, lowest note, octaves, fifths, nothing.](https://pianokitty.com/features/en/hands/left-plays.webp)

![The practice screen with both hands marked on the keyboard: the chord above, two root notes below.](https://pianokitty.com/features/en/hands/both.webp)

## Sharing one keyboard

Press `/` and pick a split point: from then on only one side of the keyboard is graded and the other is free. This helps when a teacher plays along on the same instrument, or when you want to drill the left hand while the right keeps a melody going. There is more about it on [splitting the keyboard](https://pianokitty.com/features/split).

> Grading ignores octaves, so play the shape wherever it falls under your hands. The app checks which notes you play, in any octave.

## Pick a hand

- Try it: [Left hand alone](https://pianokitty.com/app?subject=chords&ct=0,1&bn=0,2,5,7,9&inv=0&hand=left): Triads with the left hand only.
- Try it: [Chord right, octaves left](https://pianokitty.com/app?subject=chords&ct=0,1&bn=0,2,5,7,9&inv=0&hand=both&lplay=octaves): The boom-boom bass under a triad.
- Try it: [Chord right, fifths left](https://pianokitty.com/app?subject=chords&ct=0,1&bn=0,2,5,7,9&inv=0&hand=both&lplay=fifths): Root and fifth in the left hand under each triad.
- Try it: [The bass of the voicing](https://pianokitty.com/app?subject=chords&ct=0,1&bn=0,2,5,7,9&inv=0,1,2&reqinv=true&hand=both&lplay=lowest): Inversions in the right hand, their actual bass note in the left.

Related: [Split the keyboard](https://pianokitty.com/features/split.md), [Choose your own voicing](https://pianokitty.com/features/voicings.md), [Broken chords and arpeggios](https://pianokitty.com/features/broken-chords.md)

Source: https://pianokitty.com/features/hands