Intermediate Piano Chords

A step up, either because the chord adds a seventh or a sixth that the hand has to find, or because the key puts most of the shape on the black keys and further back from the front edge. The fingering on each page is worked out from the note spacing of that particular chord rather than copied from C.

97 chords carry this tag, across 15 chord types: major, minor, diminished, augmented, suspended 2nd, suspended 4th, dominant 7th, major 7th, minor 7th, half-diminished 7th, diminished 7th, minor-major 7th, major 6th, minor 6th, add 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.

Triads

Three notes. Every one of these is playable with one hand from day one, and between them they cover most of the music anybody starts out learning.

Major Chords

The most common chords in music. Major chords sound bright, happy, and resolved.

F#
F# – A# – C#

Minor Chords

Minor chords have a darker, sadder, and more contemplative sound than major chords.

Ebm
Eb – Gb – Bb

Diminished Chords

Diminished chords sound tense and unstable, often used as passing chords.

Cdim
C – Eb – Gb
C#dim
C# – E – G
Ddim
D – F – Ab
D#dim
D# – F# – A
Edim
E – G – Bb
Fdim
F – Ab – Cb
F#dim
F# – A – C
Gdim
G – Bb – Db
G#dim
G# – B – D
Adim
A – C – Eb
A#dim
A# – C# – E
Bdim
B – D – F

Augmented Chords

Augmented chords sound mysterious and dreamlike, common in film scores.

Caug
C – E – G#
Dbaug
Db – F – A
Daug
D – F# – A#
Ebaug
Eb – G – B
Eaug
E – G# – B#
Faug
F – A – C#
F#aug
F# – A# – C##
Gaug
G – B – D#
Abaug
Ab – C – E
Aaug
A – C# – E#
Bbaug
Bb – D – F#
Baug
B – D# – F##

Suspended 2nd Chords

Suspended 2nd chords sound open and airy, great for ambient and modern pop.

Dbsus2
Db – Eb – Ab
Ebsus2
Eb – F – Bb
F#sus2
F# – G# – C#
Absus2
Ab – Bb – Eb
Bsus2
B – C# – F#

Suspended 4th Chords

Suspended 4th chords create expectation and are often resolved to a major chord.

Dbsus4
Db – Gb – Ab
Ebsus4
Eb – Ab – Bb
F#sus4
F# – B – C#
Absus4
Ab – Db – Eb
Bbsus4
Bb – Eb – F

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.

Db7
Db – F – Ab – Cb
Eb7
Eb – G – Bb – Db
F#7
F# – A# – C# – E
Ab7
Ab – C – Eb – Gb
Bb7
Bb – D – F – Ab
B7
B – D# – F# – A

Major 7th Chords

Major 7th chords sound smooth and jazzy, common in bossa nova and R&B.

Cmaj7
C – E – G – B
Dbmaj7
Db – F – Ab – C
Dmaj7
D – F# – A – C#
Ebmaj7
Eb – G – Bb – D
Emaj7
E – G# – B – D#
Fmaj7
F – A – C – E
Gmaj7
G – B – D – F#
Abmaj7
Ab – C – Eb – G
Amaj7
A – C# – E – G#
Bbmaj7
Bb – D – F – A

Minor 7th Chords

Minor 7th chords blend sadness with sophistication. A staple of jazz and neo-soul.

Cm7
C – Eb – G – Bb
C#m7
C# – E – G# – B
Dm7
D – F – A – C
Em7
E – G – B – D
Fm7
F – Ab – C – Eb
F#m7
F# – A – C# – E
Gm7
G – Bb – D – F
Am7
A – C – E – G
Bm7
B – D – F# – A

Half-Diminished 7th Chords

Half-diminished chords are hollow and unresolved. Every minor two-five starts on one.

C#m7b5
C# – E – G – B
Dm7b5
D – F – Ab – C
Em7b5
E – G – Bb – D
F#m7b5
F# – A – C – E
Am7b5
A – C – Eb – G
Bm7b5
B – D – F – A

Diminished 7th Chords

Diminished 7th chords are highly dramatic, a favorite in classical and jazz.

Ddim7
D – F – Ab – Cb
Fdim7
F – Ab – Cb – Ebb
G#dim7
G# – B – D – F
Bdim7
B – D – F – Ab

Minor-Major 7th Chords

Minor-major 7th chords sound uneasy rather than sad, a staple of suspense scoring.

CmMaj7
C – Eb – G – B
DmMaj7
D – F – A – C#
EmMaj7
E – G – B – D#
FmMaj7
F – Ab – C – E
AmMaj7
A – C – E – G#

Added-note chords

Triads with an extra colour note and no seventh. They stay consonant, which is why pop, gospel and film writing lean on them so hard.

Major 6th Chords

Major 6th chords have a warm, nostalgic quality popular in jazz and oldies.

C6
C – E – G – A
D6
D – F# – A – B
Eb6
Eb – G – Bb – C
E6
E – G# – B – C#
F6
F – A – C – D
G6
G – B – D – E
Ab6
Ab – C – Eb – F
A6
A – C# – E – F#
Bb6
Bb – D – F – G

Minor 6th Chords

Minor 6th chords are bittersweet and expressive, used in jazz and bossa nova.

Cm6
C – Eb – G – A
Dm6
D – F – A – B
Em6
E – G – B – C#
Fm6
F – Ab – C – D
Gm6
G – Bb – D – E
Am6
A – C – E – F#

Add 9 Chords

Add9 chords are bright and shimmering, a modern pop and worship music staple.

Cadd9
C – E – G – D
Dadd9
D – F# – A – E
Fadd9
F – A – C – G
Gadd9
G – B – D – A
Aadd9
A – C# – E – B
Bbadd9
Bb – D – F – 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.