Piano Chord Chart: Every Major, Minor and 7th Chord

A piano chord is three or more notes played together. A major chord is the root plus the keys 4 and 7 half steps above it (C E G); a minor chord lowers the middle note by one half step (C E♭ G). The chart below lists every major, minor, seventh and other common chord in all 12 keys, with fingering.

Updated 1 November 2026 · By the Classfern Music Department

UKUSWorks in the UK and the US. This version uses US music words (measure, half step, quarter note, staff); the UK version uses bar, semitone, crotchet and stave. · UK version of this page

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Key facts

• A chord is three or more notes played together; a three-note chord is a triad.
• Major chord = root + 4 half steps + 3 more half steps (C E G). Minor chord = root + 3 + 4 (C E♭ G).
• There are 12 major and 12 minor chords, one on every key from C to B.
• Only three major chords use only white keys: C, F and G. Their relatives Am, Dm and Em are the white-key minor chords.
• Beginner fingering: right hand 1-3-5, left hand 5-3-1 (1 = thumb).
• The I–V–vi–IV progression (C–G–Am–F in C) is one of the most used chord patterns in pop music.

Piano chord finder: see it, hear it

Choose a root note and a chord type. The keys light up with the finger numbers (1 = thumb), and the notes are written out underneath. Use Inversion to see the same chord with a different note at the bottom.

Root CC♯/D♭DD♯/E♭EFG♭/F♯GG♯/A♭AA♯/B♭BChord majorminor (m)dominant 7th (7)major 7th (maj7)minor 7th (m7)diminished (dim)augmented (aug)suspended 2nd (sus2)suspended 4th (sus4)Inversion Root positionFirst inversionSecond inversionThird inversion (7th chords)Hand Right handLeft hand

1CC♯
D♭DD♯
E♭3EFF♯
G♭5GG♯
A♭AA♯
B♭BCC♯
D♭DD♯
E♭EFF♯
G♭GG♯
A♭AA♯
B♭B

C (C major), root position: C – E – G. Right-hand fingers: 1-3-5.

Play the chordPlay one note at a time

Sounds are made in your browser. This tool never uses the microphone, and nothing is recorded, saved or sent.

How do you play piano chords?

To play a piano chord, find the root note, then count up: for a major chord add the key 4 half steps up and the key 7 half steps up; for a minor chord use 3 and 7. Press all three keys at once with fingers 1, 3 and 5 in the right hand, or 5, 3 and 1 in the left.

Every key on the piano, white or black, counts as one half step. That means you can build any chord in any key with the same counting rule:

1. Find the root. The root gives the chord its name: the root of D major is D.
2. Count 4 keys up (white and black) to find the major 3rd: D → F♯. For a minor chord count only 3 keys: D → F.
3. Count 3 more keys to the 5th: F♯ → A. D major is D F♯ A; D minor is D F A.
4. Use the right fingers. Right hand thumb, middle and little finger (1-3-5); left hand little, middle and thumb (5-3-1).
5. Press together and lift together. Listen: all the notes should sound at the same moment, at the same loudness.

Try it in the chord finder above: choose D, then switch between major and minor and hear the middle note move down one key.

What are the basic piano chords for beginners?

The best first piano chords are C, F and G major, then A minor, D minor and E minor. All six use only white keys, and together they play thousands of songs. Next learn D, E and A major, which each need one black key.

Learn them in this order, a few minutes a day:

Once these feel easy, learn how chords are written in music and use the chart below for every other key.

Piano chord chart: every key

Read across each row: the chord name comes first, then its notes from the bottom up. Black keys can have two names (C♯ is the same key as D♭); the chart uses the spelling musicians normally write for each chord, so a few chords on the same key use different names, such as D♭ major and C♯ minor.

Print the chord chart or save it as a PDF

How do you read a piano chord chart?

Read a piano chord chart one row at a time: the chord symbol (such as Cm7) tells you the root and the type, and the notes listed after it are the keys to press, lowest first. A capital letter alone means major, “m” means minor and “7” adds a fourth note.

Seventh chords in every key

Diminished, augmented and suspended chords

A few spellings in the last table look unusual (B augmented is B D♯ F𝄪): F𝄪, “F double sharp”, is played on the G key. Spelling it as F𝄪 keeps the chord’s letters a 3rd apart, which is how it appears in written music.

What are the most common chord progressions on piano?

The most common piano chord progressions are I–IV–V–I, I–V–vi–IV, vi–IV–I–V, I–vi–IV–V, ii–V–I and the 12-bar blues. Roman numerals count up the scale of the key, so in C major I–V–vi–IV is C–G–Am–F, and in G major it is G–D–Em–C.

Roman numerals let you move a progression into any key: capital numerals are major chords and small ones are minor. Learn the pattern once and you can play it everywhere.

Chord progression player

Pick a progression and a key. Classfern plays the chords with a bass note in the left hand, choosing the inversion that moves your right hand the least, and lights up the keys as it goes.

Progression I–IV–V–II–V–vi–IVvi–IV–I–VI–vi–IV–Vii–V–I12-bar bluesi–iv–V–i (minor key)Key CD♭DE♭EFF♯GA♭AB♭BNow: C major

1. I C (C E G)
2. V G (G B D)
3. vi Am (A C E)
4. IV F (F A C)

Play the progression

The 12-bar blues is 12 measures long: four measures of I, two of IV, two of I, then V, IV, I, I. Play it with the left hand on the root and the right hand on the chord, and you have the backbone of blues and early rock and roll.

What are chord inversions on the piano?

A chord inversion uses the same notes in a different order, with a note other than the root at the bottom. C E G is root position; E G C is first inversion (the 3rd at the bottom); G C E is second inversion (the 5th at the bottom). Seventh chords also have a third inversion.

Inversions are why good players’ hands hardly seem to move. Play C major in root position, then F major in second inversion (C F A) and G major in first inversion (B D G): your thumb stays near middle C the whole time. The progression player above does exactly this for every key. To learn how inversions are written, see inversions, chord symbols and cadences.

Fingering changes a little: in the right hand, root position and second inversion use 1-3-5, and first inversion uses 1-2-5. In the left hand, root position and first inversion use 5-3-1 and second inversion uses 5-2-1.

Can I print a piano chord chart as a PDF?

Yes. Press “Print the chord chart or save it as a PDF” above, then choose your printer or “Save as PDF” in the print window. The tables print in black and white without the buttons, so the major, minor and seventh chords for all 12 keys fit on a few pages.

Nothing is downloaded from a server: your browser makes the PDF from this page. Keep a printed copy on the music stand while you learn songs from lead sheets or chord symbols.

How to practice piano chords

1. One chord, three ways. Play each new chord in root position, first inversion and second inversion, up and back.
2. Hands separately, then together. Left hand plays the root an octave lower while the right hand holds the triad. Our both-hands guide has seven steps.
3. Four chords on a loop. Play I–V–vi–IV in C for one minute, keeping a steady beat. Then move it to G and F.
4. Test yourself. Use the quiz below, then the free theory and ear training tests to hear chords as well as name them.

Classfern’s free piano chord chart is part of the Classfern Music Department at lessonplanner.info. It runs in your browser: no account and no download.

Quiz: name that piano chord

Marked by Classfern 6 multiple-choice questions on the Classfern lesson engine. Your answers stay on this device.

Start the quiz

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