Piano Chords
Pick a chord to see exactly which keys to press — root position and every inversion, with fingering, played on a real recorded piano.
Major
The bright, settled sound at the centre of Western music. A root, a major third and a perfect fifth — nothing pulling anywhere.
Minor
Major with the third lowered a semitone. That one note is the whole difference between happy and sad.
Dominant 7th
A major triad with a flattened 7th on top. Restless by design — it wants to resolve, which is why blues and every V chord lives here.
Major 7th
A major triad plus the note a semitone below the octave. Lush and floating — the sound of jazz ballads and warm pop.
Minor 7th
A minor triad with a flattened 7th. Softer and more open than plain minor — the backbone of soul, jazz and R&B.
Half-Diminished
A minor 7th with the fifth flattened too. Dark and unresolved — most often the ii chord in a minor key.
Diminished 7th
Four notes stacked in minor thirds, perfectly symmetrical. Maximum tension, and it can resolve in four directions at once.
Suspended 2nd
The third is replaced by the second, so the chord is neither major nor minor. Open and weightless.
Suspended 4th
The third is replaced by the fourth. It leans hard on the note it is about to become — suspend, then resolve.
Diminished
A minor triad with the fifth pulled in a semitone. Two stacked minor thirds, tense and unstable.
Augmented
A major triad with the fifth pushed out a semitone. Two stacked major thirds — dreamlike and going nowhere in particular.
Major 6th
A major triad with the sixth added. Sweeter and less weighty than a major 7th — the sound of old standards and final chords.
Minor 6th
A minor triad with a major sixth on top. That raised sixth against the minor third is the Dorian sound in one chord.
Minor Major 7th
A minor triad with a major 7th. The clash between the flat third and the leading tone is why this is the film-noir chord.
Dominant 7sus4
A dominant 7th with the fourth standing in for the third. All of the pull, none of the bite.
Add 9
A plain major triad with the ninth added and no seventh. Open and modern — the chord that makes pop piano sound expensive.
Dominant 9th
A dominant 7th with the ninth stacked on top. Funk lives here — this is the shape under a thousand James Brown vamps.
Major 9th
A major 7th with the ninth added. Lush and wide open — five notes that need both hands to breathe properly.
Minor 9th
A minor 7th with the ninth on top. Smooth to the point of being weightless — neo-soul and R&B run on it.