How to find guitar and piano chords
- Pick a root note from C to B, including sharps and flats.
- Choose a chord type, from major and minor to sevenths, sus, diminished, augmented and power chords.
- Read the notes with their intervals and see them highlighted on the piano diagram.
- Browse the guitar fingerings below and click a diagram to hear that voicing strummed.
- Use Strum, Play chord or Arpeggio to hear the chord again.
What you can do with Chord Finder
- 17 chord types
- Major, minor, 7, maj7, m7, sus2, sus4, 7sus4, 6, m6, 9, add9, dim, dim7, m7♭5, aug and 5, for all 12 roots.
- Correctly spelled notes
- Notes are named the way theory books write them, such as E♭ rather than D♯ in C minor, with interval labels like ♭3 and ♭7.
- Guitar fingering diagrams
- Open chords where they exist plus movable E-shape and A-shape barre chords, with muted and open strings marked.
- Piano keyboard view
- See exactly which keys to press on a two-octave keyboard diagram for every chord.
- Hear every chord
- A plucked-string strum for each guitar voicing, plus a piano-style block chord and an arpeggio.
- Fret numbers listed
- Each diagram lists its frets from low E to high E, like x 3 2 0 1 0 for C major, for quick reference.
How chords are built and how barre chord shapes work
A chord is built by stacking intervals on a root. A major triad uses the root, major third and perfect fifth (C E G), and minor lowers the third (C E♭ G). Seventh chords add a fourth note: a dominant 7 adds a minor seventh (C E G B♭), the bluesy tension you hear before a song resolves home, while maj7 adds a major seventh for a softer, jazzier sound. Sus chords replace the third with a second or fourth, so they sound neither major nor minor, and power chords drop the third entirely.
On guitar, chords near the nut use open strings, and the C, A, G, E and D shapes are the first ones most players learn. For other roots, the tool shows barre chords built on the E shape (root on the low E string) and the A shape (root on the A string). Slide the same shape up the neck to change key: the E-shape major at the 3rd fret is G, and at the 5th fret it's A. Diagrams use standard tuning; with a capo, the shapes stay the same but sound higher.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find the notes in a chord?
Select the root and the chord type. The notes appear at the top with their interval names, for example G B D for G major (R, 3, 5), and are highlighted on the piano diagram. Click Play chord or Arpeggio to hear them together or one at a time.
Can the chord finder identify a chord from notes I play?
No. It works the other way around: you choose the chord name and it shows the notes and fingerings. To work out a chord by ear, find the notes on the Virtual Piano and compare them with chords here, or name single notes with the Guitar Tuner's chromatic mode.
Does it show ukulele chords?
Not currently. The fingering diagrams are for six-string guitar in standard tuning. The note names and piano diagram apply to any instrument, so you can use them to work out a ukulele shape yourself.
What do the symbols on the guitar chord diagrams mean?
Strings run from low E on the left to high E on the right. An × above a string means don't play it, a hollow circle means play it open, and filled dots show where to fret. A number at the side gives the starting fret, and a bar marks a barre.
Is the chord finder free, and does it work on mobile?
Yes. It's free with no sign-up, runs entirely in your browser and works on phones and tablets. Tap a root, a chord type and any diagram to hear it; on iPhone, turn off silent mode if there's no sound.