A piano chord finder that works both ways
This piano chord finder answers the two questions every keyboard player asks. Type or pick a chord — C, Fm7, B♭/D, G13 — and see it lit up on a three-octave keyboard with its notes, its formula and every inversion. Or switch to Name from notes, click the keys you are holding (or type them) and it tells you what the chord is called, including slash chords and inversions.
It is a chord finder from notes that understands real voicings: E G C is named C/E (first inversion), C E G A is C6 with Am7/C as the other possibility, and C E alone is C with no fifth. Everything runs in your browser and you can hear each chord or arpeggio.
How to use the Piano Chord Finder
- Choose Show a chord, then type a symbol into Find a chord or pick a Root and Chord type.
- Tap an inversion card to move the chord to that inversion; use ½ step buttons to transpose it down or up.
- Choose Name from notes and click keys, or type notes lowest first such as
E G CorC4 E4 G4 Bb4. - Read the chord name, then check Other names for these notes; press one to open it in Show mode.
- Press Play chord or Arpeggio to hear it; Keys show switches labels between note names and intervals.
Piano Chord Finder features
Chord recognition from notes
Your notes are compared with 33 chord types on every possible root. Exact matches with the root in the bass rank first; slash chords and chords missing an optional fifth follow.
Inversions and slash chords
Root position, 1st, 2nd and 3rd inversions for triads and seventh chords, each on its own mini keyboard, and slash chords with the bass note under the chord.
Chord transposer for piano
Move any chord up or down a semitone at a time; the new root is spelled with the fewest sharps or flats (A minor up a step is B♭ minor, not A♯ minor).
Correct spelling
Notes are spelled from the chord’s root, so F♯m7♭5 shows F♯ A C E and D♭ shows D♭ F A♭.
Fingering hints
Common textbook fingerings for triads and their inversions, and for four-note chords.
Sound
Block chord or arpeggio, with a mute button; nothing plays until you press a button or a key.
Piano chord formulas
Count the formula from the root in semitones, or read it as scale degrees of the root’s major scale: ♭3 is a minor third, ♭7 a minor seventh.
| Chord | Formula | In C |
|---|---|---|
| Major | 1 3 5 | C E G |
| Minor | 1 ♭3 5 | C E♭ G |
| Diminished | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | C E♭ G♭ |
| Augmented | 1 3 ♯5 | C E G♯ |
| Dominant 7th | 1 3 5 ♭7 | C E G B♭ |
| Major 7th | 1 3 5 7 | C E G B |
| Minor 7th | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | C E♭ G B♭ |
| Half-diminished (m7♭5) | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7 | C E♭ G♭ B♭ |
| Sus4 / sus2 | 1 4 5 / 1 2 5 | C F G / C D G |
How the chord finder from notes decides
The notes you enter are reduced to pitch classes (C, C♯, D …), so octaves and doubled notes do not matter — except the lowest note, which is the bass. For each note as a possible root, every chord type is tested: a candidate must contain all your notes and all of its own essential notes, though the fifth (and in extended chords the 9th or 11th) may be left out, as pianists often do. Candidates with fewer missing notes, a simpler chord type and the root in the bass rank highest.
Some note sets genuinely have two names. C E G A is C6 if C is in the bass and Am7 if A is; a diminished seventh chord is symmetrical, so C E♭ G♭ A can be named from any of its four notes. Context — the key and the bass — decides, which is why the alternatives are listed. To see which scale and key the chords belong to, use the scale finder or the circle of fifths.
Transposing chords on the piano
Transposing a chord keeps its shape and moves every note by the same number of semitones, so Cmaj7 up two semitones is Dmaj7. The ½ step buttons do that one chord at a time. For a whole song, paste the chord sheet into the chord transposer, and practise the result on the online piano.
Piano Chord Finder FAQ
How do I find a piano chord from the notes I play?
Choose Name from notes and click the keys, lowest note first, or type them, for example E G C. The piano chord finder shows the name (here C/E, first inversion) and any other names the same notes can have.
What is a chord inversion?
The same chord with a different note in the bass. C E G is root position; E G C is the 1st inversion (C/E); G C E is the 2nd inversion (C/G). Seventh chords also have a 3rd inversion with the 7th in the bass.
What does a slash chord like C/G mean?
Play a C chord with G as the lowest note. On piano the left hand usually plays the bass note and the right hand the chord.
Can I transpose a chord for piano here?
Yes. In Show a chord, press the ½ step buttons to move the chord down or up a semitone; the keyboard, notes and inversions update.
Why does C E G A show two chord names?
Those four notes form both C6 and Am7. The lowest note decides: with C in the bass it is C6; with A in the bass it is Am7. Both are listed.
Does it work for chords with more than four notes?
Yes — ninths, elevenths and thirteenths such as Fmaj9 or G13 are recognised, and you can leave out the fifth.