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Chord Finder: Piano and Guitar Chords
Look up any chord, major, minor, seventh, suspended, diminished, and more, in all 12 keys: its notes, its keys on the piano, and the easiest guitar shapes, with sound.
Chord Finder: Piano and Guitar Chords: Chords are built from intervals above the root: a major chord is the root, a major third, and a perfect fifth; a minor seventh adds a minor third and a minor seventh. Guitar shapes are found by searching every way of fretting the strings within four frets in standard tuning, keeping those that sound only chord notes with the root in the bass and that a hand can play, and ranking them by ease. For common chords this finds the familiar open shapes. Runs 100% locally in your browser with zero server file uploads.
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C
C · E · GIntervals: 1 3 5
x32010x32013x35550Guitar shapes are in standard tuning, low E on the left. Numbers are frets, ○ an open string, and × a string not played. The easiest shapes found are shown first.
Chord families
Most songs use a few chord families. Major and minor chords are the backbone; dominant sevenths create tension that pulls towards the next chord; major and minor sevenths soften the sound and are common in jazz, soul, and pop; suspended chords replace the third with the second or fourth for an open, unresolved feel.
To hear how chords connect, play a progression such as C, Am, F, G on the online piano or strum the shapes on the online guitar.
Reading chord symbols
A letter alone is a major chord, m means minor, 7 a dominant seventh, maj7 a major seventh, and a slash names the bass note: D/F♯ is a D chord with F♯ in the bass. To move a whole song's chords to another key, use transpose chords.
How to use it
- Choose the root note and the chord type.
- Read the notes and see them on the piano keyboard.
- Try the guitar shapes and press Strum or Play on piano to hear the chord.
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Frequently asked questions
What notes are in a chord?
A major chord takes the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of the major scale starting on its root: C major is C, E, G. A minor chord lowers the 3rd: C minor is C, E♭, G. Sevenths add the 7th: C7 is C, E, G, B♭.
Why does a guitar shape sometimes leave a note out?
Six strings and four fingers cannot always fit every note. Guitarists usually leave out the fifth, which adds least to the chord's character; the root, third, and seventh are always kept.
What is the difference between C7 and Cmaj7?
Both add a seventh to C major, but C7 adds the minor seventh, B♭, giving a bluesy pull, while Cmaj7 adds the major seventh, B, for a soft, jazzy sound.
Are C# and Db the same chord?
Yes, they sound the same on piano and guitar. Which name is used depends on the key of the song; tick Use flats to see flat names.
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