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Hey @the-old-coach ;
Here’s my take on practicing chords by group:
1st, you are learning chords for sure, and that’s important. There is a big however here.
However, you may never use all those chords. What’s important is to know all the chords in a song. Now, all the chords in a key are usually not in a single song. And songs can and frequently do, contain chords that are from outside the key.
But here’s the thing that your small win highlights: being able to “make” a chord is partly dependent upon what chord you are coming from. So there is a lot of connections you are making that are arbitrary. Now, this might give you an edge in writing songs with unusual chord progressions. It’s tough to say anything in music is actually wrong, but somethings can be ineffective.
The keys are very simple: Start with any of your major chords and go in order. A, B, C, etc. But play them in the pattern of Major, minor, minor, Major, Major, minor, diminished, Major. That’s it. Now, you can give them names: 1 Major, 2 minor, 3 minor, 4 Major, 5 Major, 6 minor, 7 dim. That way you can put in the 4th note and make 7 chords. The 1 and 4 get a major 7. The rest get a minor 7. This is frequently and incorrectly called a dominant 7 chord. The 5 chord is the dominant chord, whether it is a triad or a 7 chord. So the only “dominant 7” chord is a 5 chord with the 4th note.
Sus chords don’t have the 3rd. So if you add the 2 or 4, or the 9 or 11 (the same notes an octave higher), and it still has the 3rd, it is an add 2 or add 4 or add 9 or add 11.
So, I would advise practicing your chords in keys. However, even then, I wouldn’t go in order. I would play them in what ever order sounds good to you. This is music, not sports. It’s all about the sound.
Here are your keys. There are 12 of them. That’s all. Any other number comes from a misinformed and confused person. There are 15 key signatures because 3 of the keys are enharmonic, that is they have 2 names.
MG 😀