Blues Piano Chords

The blues is built almost entirely from dominant seventh chords, including on the tonic, where classical harmony would never put one. Add the sharp ninth, which holds the major and minor third at the same time, and you have the sound of a singer bending between the two.

36 chords carry this tag, across 3 chord types: dominant 7th, dominant 9th, dominant 7th sharp 9. Each one has its notes spelled for that key, a fingering worked out from its own shape, a staff, and a keyboard you can hear it on.

Seventh chords

A triad with a fourth note stacked on top. Sevenths are where harmony stops being just bright or dark and starts having a direction it wants to go.

Dominant 7th Chords

Dominant 7th chords add tension and are essential in blues, jazz, and rock music.

C7
C – E – G – Bb
Db7
Db – F – Ab – Cb
D7
D – F# – A – C
Eb7
Eb – G – Bb – Db
E7
E – G# – B – D
F7
F – A – C – Eb
F#7
F# – A# – C# – E
G7
G – B – D – F
Ab7
Ab – C – Eb – Gb
A7
A – C# – E – G
Bb7
Bb – D – F – Ab
B7
B – D# – F# – A

Extended chords

Ninths, elevenths and thirteenths. These are wider than one hand, so each page shows the two-hand voicing a player actually uses rather than a stack of five notes in a row.

Dominant 9th Chords

Dominant 9th chords are rich and funky, essential in funk, R&B, and jazz.

C9
C – E – G – Bb – D
Db9
Db – F – Ab – Cb – Eb
D9
D – F# – A – C – E
Eb9
Eb – G – Bb – Db – F
E9
E – G# – B – D – F#
F9
F – A – C – Eb – G
F#9
F# – A# – C# – E – G#
G9
G – B – D – F – A
Ab9
Ab – C – Eb – Gb – Bb
A9
A – C# – E – G – B
Bb9
Bb – D – F – Ab – C
B9
B – D# – F# – A – C#

Dominant 7th Sharp 9 Chords

Sharp 9 chords hold the major and minor third at once. The Hendrix chord.

C7#9
C – E – G – Bb – D#
Db7#9
Db – F – Ab – Cb – E
D7#9
D – F# – A – C – E#
Eb7#9
Eb – G – Bb – Db – F#
E7#9
E – G# – B – D – F##
F7#9
F – A – C – Eb – G#
F#7#9
F# – A# – C# – E – G##
G7#9
G – B – D – F – A#
Ab7#9
Ab – C – Eb – Gb – B
A7#9
A – C# – E – G – B#
Bb7#9
Bb – D – F – Ab – C#
B7#9
B – D# – F# – A – C##

Other tags

The same 288 chords, sorted a different way.

StylePop84Jazz192Blues36Rock48Classical72Gospel & Soul120Funk72Film Score96
MoodBright48Dark72Tense96Dreamy72
UseFirst Chords34Songwriting96Passing Chords36Two-Hand Chords108
LevelBeginner54Intermediate97Advanced137

Back to the full chord library for all 288 chords grouped by type.