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   Piano chord guide with pictures and theory
  </title><link href=https://www.pianochord.org/ rel=canonical><meta content="Learn piano chords - complete overview with pictures of all kinds of piano chords: major, minor, dominant and other categories including notes and fingerings. "name=description><link href=default.css media=screen rel=stylesheet><link href=https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Nunito&display=swap rel=stylesheet><link href=/apple_icon.png rel=apple-touch-icon><body><div id=header><div id=logo><p><a href=https://www.pianochord.org/> piano <span class=logocolor> chord </span> </a> .org</div><div id=main><ul><li><a href=major.html> Major Chords </a><li><a href=minor.html> Minor Chords </a><li><a href=misc.html> More Chords </a></ul></div><div class=search><form accept-charset=utf-8 action=https://search.freefind.com/find.html><input name=si type=hidden value=69948056><input name=pid type=hidden value=r><input name=n type=hidden value=0><input name=_charset_ type=hidden><input name=bcd type=hidden value=÷><input name=lang type=hidden value=en><input name=query placeholder=Search...></form></div></div><div id=wrapper><div id=menu><ul><li><a href=c.html> C </a><li><a href=c-sharp.html> C# </a><li><a href=d-flat.html> Db </a><li><a href=d.html> D </a><li><a href=d-sharp.html> D# </a><li><a href=e-flat.html> Eb </a><li><a href=e.html> E </a><li><a href=f.html> F </a><li><a href=f-sharp.html> F# </a><li><a href=g-flat.html> Gb </a><li><a href=g.html> G </a><li><a href=g-sharp.html> G# </a><li><a href=a-flat.html> Ab </a><li><a href=a.html> A </a><li><a href=a-sharp.html> A# </a><li><a href=b-flat.html> Bb </a><li><a href=b.html> B </a></ul></div><div id=content><h1>Learn piano chords</h1><p class=entry>On this site you can learn the chords on the piano (or keyboard, synthesizer) plus the theory behind. Choose from the menus to get a piano chord in a certain category and for a specific note. The chords are illustrated with pictures and short explanations are given to increase your understanding.</p><br><div class=post><span class=bigger> C </span><br><a href=c.html> <img alt="C chord diagram"height=69 src=images/c_small.png width=211> <br> See all C chords › </a></div><div class=post><span class=bigger> D </span><br><a href=d.html> <img alt="D chord diagram"height=69 src=images/d_small.png width=211> <br> See all D chords › </a></div><div class=post><span class=bigger> E </span><br><a href=e.html> <img alt="E chord diagram"height=69 src=images/e_small.png width=211> <br> See all E chords › </a></div><div class=post><span class=bigger> F </span><br><a href=f.html> <img alt="F chord diagram"height=69 src=images/f_small.png width=211> <br> See all F chords › </a></div><div class=post><span class=bigger> G </span><br><a href=g.html> <img alt="G chord diagram"height=69 src=images/g_small.png width=211> <br> See all G chords › </a></div><div class=post><span class=bigger> A </span><br><a href=a.html> <img alt="A chord diagram"height=69 src=images/a_small.png width=211> <br> See all A chords › </a></div><div class=post><span class=bigger> B </span><br><a href=b.html> <img alt="B chord diagram"height=69 src=images/b_small.png width=211> <br> See all B chords › </a></div><div style=clear:both> </div><span class=color> See diagrams in different chord categories: </span><p><a class=in-line href=major.html> Major chords </a> <a class=in-line href=minor.html> Minor chords </a> <a class=in-line href=seventh.html> Seventh chords </a> <a class=in-line href=extended.html> Extended chords </a> <a class=in-line href=sus.html> Sus chords </a> <a class=in-line href=dim.html> Dim chords </a> <a class=in-line href=aug.html> Aug Chords </a> <a class=in-line href=add.html> Add Chords </a> <a class=in-line href=altered.html> Altered Chords </a><p>You can learn all these categories of piano chords in this guide. The recommendation is to start with the major and minor <em> triads </em> (meaning three-note chords), which are the most common chords. <br> <br> <span class=entry> <a href=chord-converter.html> Reversed chord finder › </a> </span></div></div><div id=page><div id=aside><h2>What is a chord?</h2><p>A chord is a group of notes that can be played together and function as the harmony in music. There are lots of different chords that can be organized in different groups and categories. One thing that differ among chords is how many notes that are included. There are <em> triads </em> (three notes), <em> four-note </em> (sometimes called <em> tetrachords </em> ) and <em> five-note chords </em> . In addition, chords with six or seven notes also exist. See <a href=chord-types.html> in-depth summary of chord types </a> .<h3>Building chords</h3><p>A good way to learn chords on the piano is to be familiar with how they are constructed. The <span class=color> Cmaj7 </span> chord adds one note to <span class=color> C </span> , the seventh in the C major scale. The <span class=color> Cm7 </span> adds one note to <span class=color> Cm </span> , the seventh in the C minor scale. Looking at the extended chord (e.g. <span class=color> C7 </span> , <span class=color> C9 </span> , <span class=color> C11 </span> ), they are adding notes using intervals from the root of the chords with seventh, ninth and eleventh degrees.<h2>... And how to play piano chords?</h2><p>When you know which notes that belong to a chord, you can play it in several ways. A chord can be played by pressing down all the relevant keys simultaneously or each at a time. As you make progress, you will find more ways of altering the outcome. It is also important to use the right fingers and this is called <em> fingerings </em> .<h3>Hands</h3><p>So which hand do you play chords on piano with? The answer is that it depends. <br> <br> For musical accompaniment (i.e. you play in a band or with a singer) you can choose to play only with one hand or with both, depending on how advanced things you are playing â when playing chords including many notes, using two hands can be advantageous (see <a href=two-hands.html> Two-hands chords </a> ). Other piano techniques include playing chords in two parts (e.g. the root note first and when the rest of the notes or the root followed by the whole chord on a higher octave, called <i> stride chords </i> ). <br> <br> If you play solo, you are mostly playing the chords with your left hand and the melody with your right. This is far more natural than the opposite because the harmony and melody sound better combined this way.<h3>Fingerings</h3><p>The fingers to use when playing piano chords varies. Here are some advice to lead you to right practice:<ul><li>In general, avoid using the thumb for the black keys.<li>But for the most time (i.e. when the first note is not a black key) you should involve the thumb.<li>Always strive for the most natural position for the hand.<li>The most common fingerings for triads using left-hand are, in order: little finger (5), middle finger (3) and thumb (1). Â <li>The most common fingerings for triads using right-hand are, in order: thumb (1), middle finger (3) and little finger (5). Â </ul><p>The numbers are used to simplify and represent the five fingers from thumb (1) to little finger (5), regardless if the left or right hand is concerned. On this site you can find fingerings for the chords, these are suggestions that strives to follow the standard way, but must not be optimal in all situations or for all hands. <br> <br> Exercises could be done for developing independence among the fingers. Normally, the ring fingers are the weakest and need the most strength training. See <a href=fingerings-movements.html> fingerings illustrated with pictures </a> .<h3>Combining them</h3><p>After you learned some chords, the next step is to <a href=how-to-combine-piano-chords.html> combine them into progressions </a> .<h2>How to read the diagrams?</h2><p>On the image below you can see one example of how a piano chord is presented on this site including a diagram: <br> <br> <img alt="piano chord picture and information"class=image height=222 src=images/chord_info.png width=580> <br> <br> A red color means that the key is part of the chord that is in focus. To play the actual chord on a piano, press down all keys marked in red (if needed, see <a href=info.html> a diagram compared to a realistic picture </a> ). Since the pattern of keys repeat itself on the keyboard, you can place your hand in many positions. You will notice, however, that there is more bass on the left part of the keyboard and more treble as you go to the right. Therefore, you should strive for placing your hand somewhere in the middle.<h3>Graphics</h3><p>To understand the pictures used in the piano chord guide it is to your advantage to know <a href=keyboard-notes.html> all the notes on the keyboard </a> .<h3>Notation</h3><p>When looking at piano chord symbols, we often see <em> # </em> (pronounced <em> sharp </em> ) or <em> b </em> (pronounced <em> flat </em> ), for example <span class=color> C# </span> or <span class=color> Db </span> . <br> Then the chord is written with a sole letter, as in <span class=color> C </span> , it is a major chord. A chord written as <span class=color> Cm </span> means C minor. <br> <span class=color> Sus </span> , <span class=color> Dim </span> and <span class=color> Aug </span> are abbreviations for suspended, diminished and augmented. <br> For <a href=inversions.html> inverted chords </a> a slash is used between the original chord name and the alternative bass note (i.e. <span class=color> C/E </span> ). <br> A parenthesis can sometimes be seen in the chord name, for example <span class=color> C(#5) </span> , meaning that the chord has an alteration or extension. <br> Less common is the use of <em> no </em> in a chord. In these cases a note is omitted and <span class=color> Cno3 </span> means that the triad is played without the third. <br> <br> <span class=bigger> Exercises </span> <br> A collection of exercises with musical notation that can be open as pdf-files. <br> <a href=chord-exercises.html> Go to exercises page </a><p><span class=bigger> Ebooks </span> <br> Free ebooks and ebooks to a small cost if you want to support the site. <br> <a href=ebooks.html> Go to ebooks page </a> <br> <br><p><a class=in-line href=links.html> Link page </a></div><div id=ad><script async src=//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js></script><ins class=adsbygoogle data-ad-client=ca-pub-1925641163982296 data-ad-format=auto data-ad-slot=9504278266 style=display:block> </ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script></div><div style=clear:both> </div></div><div id=footer><div class=footerbox><div class=footerlogo></div><div class=footerlinks><a href=https://www.pianochord.org/> Home </a><a href=sitemap.html> Sitemap </a><a href=about.html> About </a></div><div class=copyright>Copyright © 2021 Pianochord.org</div></div></div><script>var _gaq = _gaq || [];
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