Rock Piano Chords

Rock keyboard parts compete with a loud band, so they favour chords with fewer notes and more weight: the power chord with no third at all, the suspension that hangs before it resolves, and the dominant seventh that drives a riff forward.

48 chords carry this tag, across 4 chord types: suspended 4th, power chord, dominant 7th, 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.

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.

Suspended 4th Chords

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

Csus4
C – F – G
Dbsus4
Db – Gb – Ab
Dsus4
D – G – A
Ebsus4
Eb – Ab – Bb
Esus4
E – A – B
Fsus4
F – Bb – C
F#sus4
F# – B – C#
Gsus4
G – C – D
Absus4
Ab – Db – Eb
Asus4
A – D – E
Bbsus4
Bb – Eb – F
Bsus4
B – E – F#

Power Chord Chords

Power chords are root and fifth with no third, so they are neither major nor minor.

C5
C – G
Db5
Db – Ab
D5
D – A
Eb5
Eb – Bb
E5
E – B
F5
F – C
F#5
F# – C#
G5
G – D
Ab5
Ab – Eb
A5
A – E
Bb5
Bb – F
B5
B – 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.

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 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.