Fundamental Chops

Piano Chords

Chords are one of the foundations of playing piano by ear. Start with simple major and minor triads, then build into inversions, 7ths, extended chords, voicings and the shapes that give different styles their sound.

Explore Chord Lessons Need More Structure? View Curriculum
Featured Tool

Build Almost Any Chord

Not sure what notes belong in a chord? Use the interactive Piano Chops Chord Generator. Choose the root, chord quality, extensions and other options and watch the chord build right on the keyboard.

Open Chord Generator → Learn it visually. Then play it.

Build Your Chord Knowledge

You don't need to memorize thousands of unrelated chords. Learn how the basic shapes work, then discover how changing a few notes can create entirely new sounds.

Triads

Start here • 3-note chords
FREE Major Chords by Color FREE Minor Chords by Color FREE All Major Chords with Inversions FREE All Minor Chords with Inversions Augmented, Add9 & Suspended Chords Diminished Chords

Inversions & 7ths

Move beyond root-position chords
Inversions
Inversions Secret — Basic Inversions Secret — Intermediate FREE Chord Voicing — Intermediate
7th Chords
FREE All 7th Chords 7th Chord Trick — Basic 7th Chord Trick with Inversions 7th Chords — Upper Structure

Extended Chords

The big ones • 9ths, 11ths, 13ths and more
C° • Cm7♭5 — Half & Fully Diminished Cm9 • Cmaj9 • C9 — 9th Chord Trick 9th Chords — Upper Structure C11 — 11th Chord Trick 11th Chords — Upper Structure C13 — 13th Chord Trick 13th Chords — Upper Structure

Other Chord Types

They look tricky. They're really not. : )
C5 — Power Chords (no3) C6 • Cm6 — Sixth Chords C2 — Another Way to Say Add9 C2(no3) — Another Way to Say Sus2 C4 — Another Way to Say Add11

Chord Workouts

Knowing how to build a chord is one thing. Finding it quickly while you're actually playing is another. These workouts train your hands, eyes and ears to recognize chords and inversions in every key.

Beginner

Diatonic Chords

Learn the chords that naturally belong to each major key.

Key of C Key of G Key of D Key of A Key of E Key of B Key of F♯ / G♭ Key of C♯ / D♭ Key of F Key of B♭ Key of E♭ Key of A♭
Intermediate

1 – 4 – 5 – 1 Cadences

Train common chord movement while strengthening your inversions.

C • 1 4 5 1 G • 1 4 5 1 D • 1 4 5 1 A • 1 4 5 1 E • 1 4 5 1 B • 1 4 5 1 F♯ / G♭ • 1 4 5 1 C♯ / D♭ • 1 4 5 1 F • 1 4 5 1 B♭ • 1 4 5 1 E♭ • 1 4 5 1 A♭ • 1 4 5 1
Advanced

1 – 6– – 2– – 5 – 1

A classic progression that forces you to see inversions quickly and connect chords smoothly.

C • 1 6– 2– 5 1 G • 1 6– 2– 5 1 D • 1 6– 2– 5 1 A • 1 6– 2– 5 1 E • 1 6– 2– 5 1 B • 1 6– 2– 5 1 F♯ / G♭ • 1 6– 2– 5 1 C♯ / D♭ • 1 6– 2– 5 1 F • 1 6– 2– 5 1 B♭ • 1 6– 2– 5 1 E♭ • 1 6– 2– 5 1 A♭ • 1 6– 2– 5 1
Quick Reference

Chord Reference Guides

Already understand the basic idea and just need to look something up? These guides break down the theory, formulas, spellings and notes for some of the most common chord types.

Augmented Chords → Suspended Chords → Diminished Chords → 7th Chords → 9th Chords → 11th Chords → 13th Chords →

Think You Know Your Chords?

Here's the test. Play your root-position major and minor triads while moving through the Circle of 4ths. Knowing the chord is one thing. Finding it instantly is another.

Take the Chord Challenge →