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Piano chords chart
Choose a root and a chord type to see which keys to press, hear it played and step through its inversions.
C
major| Note | Degree | Interval from the root |
|---|---|---|
| C | 1 | root (0 semitones) |
| E | 3 | major 3rd (4 semitones) |
| G | 5 | perfect 5th (7 semitones) |
Keys played, low to high: C4 · E4 · G4. The darker key is the bass note.
All major chords
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Frequently asked questions
How do you build a chord on the piano?
Count semitones — every key, black or white — up from the root. A major chord is the root, the key four semitones up (a major third) and the key seven up (a perfect fifth): C E G. A minor chord lowers the third by one semitone: C E♭ G. Seventh chords add a fourth note: ten semitones up for a dominant 7th (C E G B♭), eleven for a major 7th (C E G B). The table under the keyboard shows these distances for every chord.
What is a chord inversion?
An inversion is the same chord with a different note at the bottom. In root position the root is lowest; in the 1st inversion the third is lowest, in the 2nd the fifth, and in the 3rd (for seventh chords) the seventh. Pianists use inversions to move between chords with small hand movements — C to F is smoother as C E G to C F A (F in 2nd inversion) than jumping the whole hand. Inversions are written with a slash, such as C/E.
Why is it written A♭ and not G♯?
A♭ and G♯ are the same key on a piano but different notes on paper, and a chord is spelled by stacking letter names — root, third, fifth, seventh — so every chord uses every other letter. F minor must be F A♭ C, because F G♯ C would skip the letter A. For roots on black keys, the chart uses whichever name keeps the chord simplest: D♭, E♭, F♯, A♭ and B♭ major but C♯, F♯ and G♯ minor, as most music does.
Which fingers should I use?
For three-note chords in the right hand, a common fingering is thumb, middle and little finger (1-3-5); in the left hand, little finger, middle and thumb (5-3-1). For four-note chords, 1-2-3-5 in the right hand and 5-3-2-1 or 5-4-2-1 in the left are usual, adjusting when a black key falls under the thumb. The chart shows the notes to play; finger numbers are a starting point, and your teacher or method book may suggest others.
How does naming a chord from keys work?
Click the keys you are holding and the tool compares their note names with every chord type, from every possible root. A chord is only suggested when every note you picked belongs to it and its essential notes are there — only the fifth may be missing. Your lowest key is treated as the bass, so it can tell C/E from C; when the same notes make more than one chord, such as C6 and Am7, the other names are listed too.
What chord types are included?
The chart covers major, minor, dominant 7th, major 7th, minor 7th, sus2, sus4, diminished, augmented, add9, 6th, 9th, half-diminished (m7♭5), diminished 7th, minor 6th, 7sus4 and power chords, in all twelve keys. The chord namer also recognises major and minor 9ths, minor add9, minor-major 7th and 7♯5 and 7♭5 chords.
About this tool
This piano chord chart shows every chord on a three-octave keyboard from C3 to B5, with the keys to press highlighted, each labelled with its correctly spelled note name and its degree — 1, 3, 5, ♭7 and so on. Chords are drawn in close position around middle C, and the notes, degrees and intervals are listed in a table so you can see how the chord is built as well as where it sits.
The inversion buttons rearrange the chord so each chord tone in turn is at the bottom, and the display names the result with a slash, such as G7/B. Every chord and inversion can be played as a block or broken into an arpeggio. The sound is a light synthesised piano, made in your browser from stretched harmonics with a quick hammer attack, so there is nothing to download before you can hear a chord.
Below the main keyboard, the chart repeats the selected chord type in all twelve keys, which makes it easy to compare shapes — notice, for example, how a major triad looks the same in C, F and G but mixes black and white keys in D, E and A. Click any of the twelve to open it above.
The Name a chord tab works the other way round: press the keys you are holding and it tells you the chord, whether it is an inversion, and what other names the same notes could have. It is handy for working out a chord from a recording or checking a voicing you found by ear.