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Chord explorer
Pick a root and a chord quality. The notes appear on the staff and the keyboard with the chord symbol, and you can hear the chord struck or broken into single notes.
Chord explorer
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Build a chord
Pick a root and a quality. The notation, the keyboard and the sound all follow.
How a chord is built
Most chords are thirds stacked on a root. A major triad puts a major third on the bottom and a minor third above it — C, E, G. Swap the order of the two thirds and you have a minor triad, C, E♭, G: one note, one semitone, and the character of the chord turns over. Seventh chords add one more third on top; suspended chords replace the third with a second or a fourth; added-note chords keep the triad and put a sixth or ninth with it.
The root decides where the chord is; the quality decides which intervals sit above it. Change the root with the quality fixed and the shape on the keyboard slides along unchanged, even as the spelling picks up sharps or flats.
The chord types
| Chord | Formula | On C |
|---|---|---|
| Major triad | 1 – 3 – 5 | C major = C – E – G |
| Minor triad | 1 – ♭3 – 5 | Cm = C – E♭ – G |
| Diminished triad | 1 – ♭3 – ♭5 | Cdim = C – E♭ – G♭ |
| Augmented triad | 1 – 3 – ♯5 | Caug = C – E – G♯ |
| Suspended second | 1 – 2 – 5 | Csus2 = C – D – G |
| Suspended fourth | 1 – 4 – 5 | Csus4 = C – F – G |
| Major seventh | 1 – 3 – 5 – 7 | Cmaj7 = C – E – G – B |
| Dominant seventh | 1 – 3 – 5 – ♭7 | C7 = C – E – G – B♭ |
| Minor seventh | 1 – ♭3 – 5 – ♭7 | Cm7 = C – E♭ – G – B♭ |
| Half-diminished seventh | 1 – ♭3 – ♭5 – ♭7 | Cm7♭5 = C – E♭ – G♭ – B♭ |
| Diminished seventh | 1 – ♭3 – ♭5 – ♭♭7 | Cdim7 = C – E♭ – G♭ – B𝄫 |
| Major sixth | 1 – 3 – 5 – 6 | C6 = C – E – G – A |
| Added ninth | 1 – 3 – 5 – 9 | Cadd9 = C – E – G – D |
New to chord symbols? Chord symbols explains how “Cm7” turns into notes, and triads starts from the beginning.