Tense Piano Chords

Each of these contains an interval that is unstable by construction: a tritone, a squeezed fifth, a raised fifth, or a seventh grinding a semitone below the octave. They are the chords that create motion, which makes them enormously effective briefly and exhausting at length.

96 chords carry this tag, across 8 chord types: diminished, augmented, dominant 7th, half-diminished 7th, diminished 7th, minor-major 7th, dominant 7th flat 9, 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.

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##

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

Half-Diminished 7th Chords

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

Cm7b5
C – Eb – Gb – Bb
C#m7b5
C# – E – G – B
Dm7b5
D – F – Ab – C
Ebm7b5
Eb – Gb – Bbb – Db
Em7b5
E – G – Bb – D
Fm7b5
F – Ab – Cb – Eb
F#m7b5
F# – A – C – E
Gm7b5
G – Bb – Db – F
G#m7b5
G# – B – D – F#
Am7b5
A – C – Eb – G
Bbm7b5
Bb – Db – Fb – Ab
Bm7b5
B – D – F – A

Diminished 7th Chords

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

Cdim7
C – Eb – Gb – Bbb
C#dim7
C# – E – G – Bb
Ddim7
D – F – Ab – Cb
D#dim7
D# – F# – A – C
Edim7
E – G – Bb – Db
Fdim7
F – Ab – Cb – Ebb
F#dim7
F# – A – C – Eb
Gdim7
G – Bb – Db – Fb
G#dim7
G# – B – D – F
Adim7
A – C – Eb – Gb
A#dim7
A# – C# – E – G
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
C#mMaj7
C# – E – G# – B#
DmMaj7
D – F – A – C#
EbmMaj7
Eb – Gb – Bb – D
EmMaj7
E – G – B – D#
FmMaj7
F – Ab – C – E
F#mMaj7
F# – A – C# – E#
GmMaj7
G – Bb – D – F#
G#mMaj7
G# – B – D# – F##
AmMaj7
A – C – E – G#
BbmMaj7
Bb – Db – F – A
BmMaj7
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 Flat 9 Chords

Flat 9 chords are dark and urgent, and they pull hardest into a minor chord.

C7b9
C – E – G – Bb – Db
Db7b9
Db – F – Ab – Cb – Ebb
D7b9
D – F# – A – C – Eb
Eb7b9
Eb – G – Bb – Db – Fb
E7b9
E – G# – B – D – F
F7b9
F – A – C – Eb – Gb
F#7b9
F# – A# – C# – E – G
G7b9
G – B – D – F – Ab
Ab7b9
Ab – C – Eb – Gb – Bbb
A7b9
A – C# – E – G – Bb
Bb7b9
Bb – D – F – Ab – Cb
B7b9
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.