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Chord Finder
Click the notes you are holding down on the keyboard below and the chord finder names the chord instantly — with its intervals, suggested fingering, playback and a link you can share. Works for triads, 7th chords, extended and altered shapes in any inversion.
Use the left and right arrow keys to move between notes, up and down arrows to jump an octave, Home and End for the lowest and highest note. Press Enter or Space to play and select a note, and Delete to remove it from your selection.
Select at least two notes to identify a chord.
Try these note sets
How to identify a chord from its notes
A chord's name comes from the distances between its notes, not from the letters themselves. Take the lowest note as a starting point and count semitones up to each other note: 4 and 7 gives a Major triad, 3 and 7 a Minor triad, 3 and 6 a Diminished triad, 4 and 8 an Augmented triad. Add a fourth note 10 semitones above the root and you have a Dominant 7th; 11 semitones gives a Major 7th.
Octaves and note order do not change the name, which is why an inversion like E–G–C is still C Major. If the set of notes matches more than one chord, the deciding factor is usually which note the bass is playing and what came before it in the progression.
| Chord type | Semitones from root | Example on C |
|---|---|---|
| Major | 0 · 4 · 7 | C E G |
| Minor | 0 · 3 · 7 | C D# G |
| Diminished | 0 · 3 · 6 | C D# F# |
| Augmented | 0 · 4 · 8 | C E G# |
| Dominant 7th | 0 · 4 · 7 · 10 | C E G A# |
| Major 7th | 0 · 4 · 7 · 11 | C E G B |
Chord finder FAQ
How does a chord finder work?
You give it a set of notes; it measures the distance in semitones between them and compares that pattern against every known chord shape. Because a chord is defined by its intervals rather than its letters, the same pattern is recognised from any note you start on — C, E and G is a Major triad, and so is F, A and C.
What chord is C E G?
C E G is a C Major triad: a root, a Major third (4 semitones) and a perfect fifth (7 semitones). Lower the E to Eb and it becomes C Minor; add a Bb and it becomes C Dominant 7th.
Why does the finder name a different root than I expected?
Many chords share the same notes and only differ by which one you treat as the root — a C Major triad and an A Minor 7th chord without its root contain overlapping pitches. The finder picks the fullest match it can, so if you want a specific reading, play the intended root as the lowest note or add the missing note that pins the chord down.
Can it identify inversions and slash chords?
Yes for the harmony — the finder ignores octave placement, so C/E and a first-inversion C Major both come back as C Major. It names the chord, not the voicing, so the bass note is not part of the result.
Is the chord finder free?
Completely, and no account is needed. The chord and scale reference pages and the progression generator are free too. Ear training, daily puzzles and adaptive quizzes are part of the 14-day free trial, then $7/month.
Keep exploring
- · Piano chords chart — every chord type in all 12 keys with notes, intervals and playback.
- · Scales reference — find the scale your chord belongs to.
- · Chord progression generator — turn the chord you just found into a full progression.
Learn to name chords by ear
ChordCraft Lab turns this into practice: daily chord puzzles, ear training levels and adaptive quizzes that track exactly which shapes you keep missing. 14-day free trial, then $7/month.
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