A chord is three or more notes played together, and almost every song you have ever hummed is built from the same handful of them. Once you can find a root note on the keyboard, you can build any major or minor triad in about two seconds using two fixed shapes. This page lists the notes of every common chord in one place, along with the keyboard letters you press on our online piano.
How to build any major or minor chord
Start on the root note — the note the chord is named after. For a major triad, skip two keys to the right (counting black keys) and play that note, then skip three more. For a minor triad, do the reverse: skip three keys first, then two. Those two shapes cover every major and minor chord in existence.
On a piano keyboard this is easy to see. C major is C, E, G — two white keys between each pair. C minor is C, E flat, G — the middle note drops one key to the left. The only difference between a major and minor chord is the position of that middle note.
All 12 major and minor triads
The table below gives the exact notes of the major and minor triad built on each root. The final column shows the keyboard letters for the major triad on our virtual piano, where lowercase letters are white keys and capital letters are black keys.
| Root | Major triad | Minor triad | Keyboard letters (major) |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | C – E – G | C – E♭ – G | t u o |
| C♯ / D♭ | C♯ – E♯ – G♯ | C♯ – E – G♯ | T Y O |
| D | D – F♯ – A | D – F – A | y I p |
| D♯ / E♭ | E♭ – G – B♭ | E♭ – G♭ – B♭ | Y O P |
| E | E – G♯ – B | E – G – B | u O a |
| F | F – A – C | F – A♭ – C | i p s |
| F♯ / G♭ | F♯ – A♯ – C♯ | F♯ – A – C♯ | G J L |
| G | G – B – D | G – B♭ – D | o a d |
| G♯ / A♭ | A♭ – C – E♭ | G♯ – B – D♯ | H L D |
| A | A – C♯ – E | A – C – E | p S f |
| A♯ / B♭ | B♭ – D – F | B♭ – D♭ – F | P d g |
| B | B – D♯ – F♯ | B – D – F♯ | a D G |
Seventh chords, in one line each
Add one more note on top of a triad and you get a chord with far more colour. These four cover most of what you will meet in pop, jazz and classical music:
You do not need to memorise these before you can play songs. Learn the major and minor triads first — seventh chords are an easy upgrade once the triad shapes are automatic.
- Cmaj7 — C E G B. A major triad plus the note a semitone below the octave. Soft and open.
- Cm7 — C E♭ G B♭. A minor triad plus a minor seventh. The workhorse of soul and jazz.
- C7 — C E G B♭. A major triad plus a minor seventh. It pulls strongly toward the chord a fifth below it.
- Cm6 — C E♭ G A. A minor triad plus a major sixth. Dark and slightly unresolved.
Inversions: the same chord, three ways
Any triad can be played with the root on the bottom, the third on the bottom, or the fifth on the bottom. These are called inversions, and they all count as the same chord — changing the bass note only changes the colour.
Beginners should learn inversions early, because they let you move between chords without lifting the hand. C major, then C major in first inversion (E G C), then second inversion (G C E) — the fingers barely travel.
Frequently asked questions
What are the 12 major chords on piano?
C, C♯, D, E♭, E, F, F♯, G, A♭, A, B♭ and B. Each major triad is built by skipping two keys then three keys from the root, which is why the shape looks identical in every key.
How do I find a chord on a keyboard without sheet music?
Find the root note, then count keys. Major chords skip two keys then three; minor chords skip three then two. Counting includes the black keys, so the distance is always the same.
Which chords should a beginner learn first?
C, F and G major, plus A minor — they are all white-key shapes and they make up the C-Am-F-G progression behind a huge number of songs.
What is the difference between a major and a minor chord?
Only the middle note. A major triad has a gap of four semitones from root to middle note; a minor triad has three. Lowering that one note turns a bright chord into a sad one.
Related pages
- Scales — Piano Scales – Major, Minor & Pentatonic
- Notes — Piano Notes – Names, Chart and Keyboard Map
- Intervals — Piano Intervals – Every Distance, Named
- Chord Progressions — Piano Chord Progressions – The 8 That Cover Most Songs
- Reading Sheet Music — How to Read Sheet Music – A Beginner Walkthrough
- Akkordfolgen am Klavier (Deutsch) — the same progressions explained in German
- Free virtual piano — play everything on this page
- Piano songs with letter notes — apply it to real songs
- Piano keys explained — layout, labels, how many keys
- Easy piano songs for beginners