Piano Chord Finder

Press three or more keys on the keyboard above and the piano chord finder names them. You get the symbol (C, or C/E), the full name and the notes. If the lowest key isn't the root, it's an inversion, and the name says which one. On a MIDI keyboard, just play the chord.

Clicked keys stay down until you click them again. A mouse can only press one key at a time, so that's how you build a chord with it. Clear lets go of all of them.

If you searched "what chord am i playing", this is the reverse chord finder for that. No counting half steps. Keep it open next to your music as a piano chord lookup and try a voicing, or a whole progression, without stopping. Stopping to check every bar makes practice choppy, and the playing ends up robotic.

The finder only cares which note names you hold. Octave doesn't matter, and neither does doubling. Low C, middle E and G, high C: that's still C.

The lowest key sets the inversion. E at the bottom gives C/E, first inversion.

It knows fifteen chord qualities on every root:

Some sets of notes have two honest names. C6 and Am7 use the same four notes (C, E, G, A), and the bass picks. A at the bottom reads Am7. C at the bottom reads C6. A lead sheet would write it the same way.

Two keys are an interval, not a chord, so you'll be asked for a third. A cluster of neighboring keys like C, C♯ and D has no chord name at all. Move one of them and the finder tries again.

Reading a name off the screen is step one. Step two is finding that chord again with your eyes on the music and not on your hands. Ten of the fifteen qualities have a page in the piano chord dictionary, and while you hold one of those the button under the keys changes to Learn Cm in Chordzy, or whichever chord it is. Each page shows the chord on a keyboard in root position and both inversions, every one playable and graded right on the page.

Here is one run through, starting from a chord you know:

Then open the chord's page and play it from the diagram until the shape is in your hands.

Those three C major shapes are worth hearing in a row. Root position sits still. The two inversions lean, each in its own direction, and a leaning shape is the one to reach for when the next chord is a step away and you don't want your hand to jump. From C to F/C your thumb stays on C while E and G each climb one white key to F and A.

Why learn the names at all? Everyone else uses them. Sheet music writes harmony with them, and so does anyone you improvise or write songs with. If you back a singer or another instrument, chord names are what you'll be reading. They also let you move a song to another key without looking at your hands. With a piano chord identifier confirming each one, there's less second-guessing and more playing.

Chord names make more sense in a real piece. Open something from the sheet music library and the names sit above the staff, changing as you play. Now the page, your hands and your ears are all on the same chord. You start noticing cadences. You spot sequences (one pattern, repeated at a new pitch) and modulations (the music moving to a new key). And I-V-vi-IV, which turns up in a startling number of songs. In C that's C, G, Am, F. The key pages list which chords belong to each key.

Here's a quick drill. The point is to check your ear, so don't let the finder do the listening for you. Clicked keys play a piano sound, which means it works without a MIDI keyboard too.

A few minutes a day is plenty. You'll start hearing the difference before you read the name. Cmaj7 vs C7? One note, B or B♭. Csus2 vs Cadd9? Whether E is in there. At some point you just know, without having to think about it.

Keep it short and repeat it. C is a fine key to start in.

Round 4 is where a chords finder piano setup earns its keep. Say you move to E♭, where the chords are E♭, A♭ and B♭. You can check each one the second you play it, so you move fast and a theory question never leaves your hands hanging in the air. Want it to sound like music right away? Take the plan into the sheet music library and keep the chord names on while you play. The robotic feeling fades as the harmony gets surer. It doesn't come back.

Why does the finder say nothing when I hold two keys?

Two notes make an interval, not a chord. Add a third note and a name appears.

It named my chord with a slash, like G/B. What does that mean?

The chord is G major, but B is the lowest note, so it is in first inversion. The letter after the slash is always the bass note.

Can it identify chords with more than four notes?

It names chords of up to four different notes, which covers sevenths, add9 and sixths. Ninth and thirteenth chords with five or more different notes are not named yet.

Does it work with a MIDI keyboard?

Yes, in Chrome, Edge and Opera. Click Connect MIDI keyboard, allow MIDI when the browser asks, then play. The keys you hold light up on the keyboard above and get named underneath. Safari can't read a MIDI keyboard, and neither can any browser on an iPhone or iPad, so on a Mac use one of the other three. The on-screen keys work in every browser, and none of it needs an install.

Does the Chordzy app have a chord finder?

Yes, for a MIDI keyboard. The downloadable app names whatever chord you play on a connected keyboard. It has no on-screen keys, and with no keyboard plugged in it points you to the setup help.