Piano chords: a finder and chart for 15 chord types

A piano chord is three or more notes played together, usually stacked a third apart on a root, the note that names the chord: C, E and G make C major. Pick a root and a chord type in the finder above to see and hear it; below are the formulas, inversions, progressions and a chart of all 24 major and minor triads.

To move a sequence into a different register or singing range, use the chord transposer. It moves chord names and slash basses together; it does not transpose a recording.

Identify a chord from the keys you play

Open Identify notes & chords above. Hold the keys together, or enable Keep notes from each tap and select them one at a time. Tap a kept note again to remove it; Clear notes starts over. The finder compares the selected notes with its 15 chord types, treating octave doublings as one chord tone. It shows the bass of an inversion and all exact matches when a set has several names: C E G A can be C6 or Am7. It cannot infer missing tones or recognize a chord from a recording. For ninths, elevenths, altered and suspended chords, typed note names and the chord's degrees, use the chord identifier.

How chords are built from intervals

An interval is the distance between two notes, counted in half steps: every key, black or white, is one half step from the next. Chords are built from the major 2nd (2 half steps), minor 3rd (3), major 3rd (4), perfect 4th (5), diminished 5th (6), perfect 5th (7), augmented 5th (8), major 6th (9), minor 7th (10), major 7th (11) and major 9th (14).

A major triad is a major 3rd with a minor 3rd on top: from C, count four half steps up to E, then three more to G. A minor triad swaps them, three half steps up to Eb and four more to G. Formulas number the notes of the root's major scale, and a flat (b) or sharp (#) lowers or raises a note by a half step.

The 15 chord types in the finder

• Triads: a diminished triad stacks two minor 3rds and sounds tense; an augmented triad stacks two major 3rds and sounds unsettled.
• Seventh chords add a fourth note. A dominant seventh pulls toward the chord a 5th below, the way G7 leads to C, and a diminished seventh stacks three minor 3rds.

The last note of Cdim7 is spelled Bbb (B double flat) because it is a 7th above C, but you play it on the A key.

Inversions

A chord is in root position when its root is the lowest note. An inversion puts another chord tone at the bottom, while keeping the same chord notes. For a triad, moving the bottom note up an octave gives the next inversion.

• Root position: C E G
• First inversion, 3rd at the bottom: E G C
• Second inversion, 5th at the bottom: G C E
• Third inversion of a seventh chord, 7th at the bottom: Bb C E G for C7

The finder lists notes from lowest to highest. A slash names the bass: C/E is C major with E at the bottom. For add9 and 9 chords, every chord tone can be selected as the bass; the 9 chord has a fourth inversion with its ninth at the bottom. Play the notes one by one to hear their order, then practice the highlighted keys.

Inversions keep your hand from jumping. Play C major (C E G), then F major in second inversion (C F A), then G major in first inversion (B D G): shared notes stay put and the rest move to nearby keys.

Use the chord progression generator to connect chords, change key, compare inversions and download a MIDI sequence.

Common chord progressions in C

Build a triad on each note of the C major scale, all white keys, and you get the seven chords of C major, numbered in Roman numerals: uppercase for major, lowercase for minor and ° for diminished.

• I–IV–V–I: C – F – G – C. The three primary chords, which together contain every note of the scale; the basis of many folk songs, hymns and the 12-bar blues.
• I–V–vi–IV: C – G – Am – F. A loop heard in a great many pop songs.
• ii–V–I: Dm – G – C. The core of jazz harmony, usually played as Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7.

The numbers work in any key: in G major, for example, I–IV–V–I is G – C – D – G.

Major and minor triads in all 12 keys

A triad uses every other letter name, like C–E–G, so black keys are spelled with sharps in sharp keys and with flats in flat keys.

Black-key chords can also be spelled from the other name of their root: C# major, for example, is C# E# G#, where E# is the white key F, and Gb major is Gb Bb Db. C, F and G major and D, E and A minor use only white keys, so start with those.

How to practice piano chords

Press Practice chord to find the selected chord's notes one at a time, in any order. Each correct key leaves the highlighted set until you have found them all. Try another inversion to learn the same chord in a different position. Stop ends practice or a demonstration. This exercise checks which notes you press; it does not grade timing or whether you hold them together.

• Play C, then Cm, and listen to how one moved note changes the mood.
• Use fingers 1-3-5 in the right hand and 5-3-1 in the left for root-position triads, counting the thumb as 1.
• Walk each chord through its inversions up the keyboard and back.
• Practice progressions slowly at a steady beat, with the root in your left hand and the triad in your right, moving to the nearest inversion.
• Work out a chord from its formula, then check your answer in the chord finder.

For lessons on C, F, G and Am, see chords for beginners, then move on to piano scales and the easy songs.

Reference: Open Music Theory — chord symbols, bass notes and added notes.

Printable piano chord chart

All 36 chords on one page, each on a small keyboard with its keys marked and its notes named. Open the image to print it or save it.