Piano chords
Every piano chord, drawn and playable. Tap a chord to open it, then hit Play to hear exactly what's drawn with the keys lighting up as they sound.
The 12 chords to learn first
How to learn your first piano chords, in order
All piano chords
Twelve roots across, fifteen chord types down. Sharps and flats: C♯ is the same key as D♭, E♭ as D♯, F♯ as G♭, A♭ as G♯ and B♭ as A♯, so each chord appears once under its usual name.
How piano chords are built
Every chord on the keyboard is a stack of notes counted in half steps, and a half step is simply the next key, black or white. A major chord is the root, then four half steps up, then three more: C to E to G. A minor chord swaps the gaps, three then four: C to E♭ to G. Everything else on this page is one of those two with a note added or nudged: a seventh adds a note on top, sus chords move the middle note, diminished and augmented squeeze or stretch the outer one.
That means you never have to memorise 180 chords. Learn to count the gaps and you can build any of them from any key, which is exactly what each chord page does in its first line.
Which hand plays what
Most beginner music puts the chord in the left hand and the melody in the right. For practising the shapes, start in the right hand around middle C with fingers 1, 3 and 5 (thumb, middle, little finger) on the three notes. Once that feels settled, play the same chord with the left hand an octave lower, fingers 5, 3 and 1 from the bottom. Four-note chords use 1-2-3-5 in the right hand.
Inversions keep your hand still
Moving from C to F to G in root position means jumping the whole hand. Play F as C–F–A and G as B–D–G instead and your hand barely moves; those rearrangements are called inversions. Every piano chord page lists them and plays each one, so you can hear that the chord keeps its name while the lowest note changes.
A good first exercise: play C, F and G in root position, then again with F and G inverted so the top note stays near C. Listen to how much smoother the second version sounds; that smoothness is what accompanists are after.
Piano chord questions
What are the basic piano chords?
C, F, G, Am, Dm and Em: the chords of C major, all on white keys. Add D, A and E (one black key each) and you can play in most beginner keys.
How do you build a chord on piano?
Pick the root, then count half steps. Major: 4 then 3 more (C–E–G). Minor: 3 then 4 (C–E♭–G). Every other chord type is one of these with a note added or moved.
What fingers do you use for piano chords?
For a three-note chord in the right hand use 1, 3 and 5 (thumb, middle, pinky). In the left hand it's 5, 3 and 1 from the bottom. Four-note chords use 1-2-3-5.
What is a chord inversion?
The same notes with a different one at the bottom. C major is C–E–G; its first inversion is E–G–C and its second is G–C–E.
Updated September 2026. Also see a printable piano chord chart.