Free Tools Chords

Chords

Every note of the chosen chord, marked across the whole keyboard. Pick a chord and a root note.

    Note names

    Interval numbers

    About chord tones

    A chord is named by the intervals it stacks above a root. A triad uses three notes; a seventh chord adds a fourth; ninth, eleventh and thirteenth chords keep stacking further. The name tells you exactly which intervals to expect, so a chord symbol is really a recipe.

    A keyboard map cares only about pitch class, not register, so extensions fold back into the octave: a ninth is the second, an eleventh is the fourth, a thirteenth is the sixth. Two chords that differ only in which octave an extension occupies therefore mark exactly the same keys here, even though they sound different when voiced on the instrument.

    Seeing the chord tones spread across the whole keyboard rather than as a single hand position is what makes improvising over a chord possible. The notes you can lean on are the chord tones; everything else is passing through.

    Using this tool

    Below the diagrams you will find the scales that contain every note of the chord, which is a direct answer to what you can solo with, and the smaller chords that fit inside it, which is useful for simplifying a dense voicing.

    Frequently asked questions

    What notes are in a dominant seventh chord?

    The root, major third, perfect fifth and minor seventh. A C dominant seventh is C, E, G and B flat.

    What is the difference between a major seventh and a dominant seventh chord?

    The seventh itself. A major seventh sits eleven semitones above the root, a dominant seventh ten. Both keep the same major third and perfect fifth.

    Which scale should I play over a chord?

    Any scale that contains all of the chord's notes will fit. The table on this page lists every scale in the collection that qualifies, and at which roots.

    Every chord, key by key

    A page for each of the twelve most-used chord types in all twelve keys, with its notes, intervals, the scales it fits inside and a full keyboard diagram.

    Practice this on your own piano

    Pianolytics listens to your instrument and drills triads, scales and chords.

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