Chord recognition game: read the chord, then name it
A free chord recognition game you play in the browser. A chord is lit on the piano keys or stacked on the staff, and you identify it from four names. Sixty seconds a round, with four levels from major against minor up to sevenths and inversions. No signup, and every level is open.
Keep the streak going in the app — more than 30 game modes, free.
How the chord quiz works
Pick a level
Level 1 lights the chord on a piano keyboard. Levels 2 to 4 print it on the staff, so you read the stack instead of seeing the hand shape.
Start the round
Sixty seconds. The first chord appears at once, with four possible names under it.
Name what you see
Tap one of the four answers, or press 1, 2, 3 or 4 on a computer keyboard. The sound button plays the chord if you want a second opinion.
Learn from the misses
Right or wrong, the chord sounds. A miss marks the name it really was and costs two seconds. The clock never stops.
What you are reading when you name a chord
A chord is a stack of thirds. Take a letter, skip one, take the next, skip one again: three letters make a triad, four make a seventh chord. The pattern fixes which letters are in the chord, so the only question left is which accidental each of them carries.
The quality comes from distance, not from letters. Measure the bottom note against the other two in semitones: four then three is major, three then four is minor, three and three is diminished, four and four is augmented. Those four shapes cover every triad you will meet.
Identifying a chord that is not in a neat stack
Written music lifts the bottom note of a chord up an octave whenever that makes the parts move more smoothly. The shape on the page looks unfamiliar because the thirds are broken, but nothing has changed: the same three or four notes are there in a different order.
Undoing it is mechanical. Find the gap wider than a third and rotate the stack so it starts just above that gap. The awkward shape is a plain triad again, and the note you rotated to the bottom is the root that names it.
Why seventh chords take longer
Four notes give you three distances to measure instead of two, and five of the combinations are common enough to carry their own symbols. The triad underneath is the shortcut: read it first, then ask only what the top note adds to it.
A major triad under a major seventh is maj7; the same triad under a minor seventh is the dominant seventh, written as a bare 7. A minor triad takes m7. The two that catch people out sit on a diminished triad: m7b5 keeps the minor seventh, dim7 lowers it one more semitone.
Chord formulas and inversions
Every chord type with the semitones each note sits above the root, and one example spelled in your own note names. The second table takes one triad and one seventh chord through their inversions.
Chord types
| Chord | Symbol | Notes | Semitones |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major | C | C E G | 0 · 4 · 7 |
| Minor | Cm | C E♭ G | 0 · 3 · 7 |
| Diminished | Cdim | C E♭ G♭ | 0 · 3 · 6 |
| Augmented | Caug | C E G♯ | 0 · 4 · 8 |
| Major seventh | Cmaj7 | C E G B | 0 · 4 · 7 · 11 |
| Dominant seventh | C7 | C E G B♭ | 0 · 4 · 7 · 10 |
| Minor seventh | Cm7 | C E♭ G B♭ | 0 · 3 · 7 · 10 |
| Half-diminished | Cm7b5 | C E♭ G♭ B♭ | 0 · 3 · 6 · 10 |
| Diminished seventh | C♯dim7 | C♯ E G B♭ | 0 · 3 · 6 · 9 |
Inversions
| Symbol | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| C | Root position | C E G |
| C | 1st inversion | E G C |
| C | 2nd inversion | G C E |
| C7 | Root position | C E G B♭ |
| C7 | 1st inversion | E G B♭ C |
| C7 | 2nd inversion | G B♭ C E |
| C7 | 3rd inversion | B♭ C E G |
An inversion changes which note is at the bottom, not which notes are there. The name does not change with it, which is why the answer buttons never offer a separate name for an inverted chord.
A chord recognition trainer app for iPhone and Android
ChordIQ takes the same skill further than one board can: Two Chords, Major or Minor, and Chord Qualities from fast triad calls up to m7b5, sus4 and extensions, plus Guess Chord, Play Chord, Build the Chord and Inversions. It plays them on piano, guitar, ukulele or bass, and takes input from a MIDI keyboard.
- Read notes on treble, bass, alto and grand staff, plus marathon and survival runs.
- Key signatures, note values and rests.
- Rhythm: read a written bar and tap it in time, or hear a rhythm and echo it back.
- Singing: hold a pitch into the microphone while a live cents meter scores you.
- Ear training: intervals, chords by ear, perfect pitch, solfege and melodic dictation.
- Chords and scales on piano, guitar, ukulele or bass, with MIDI keyboard input.
ChordIQ is free to download on iPhone and Android, and most of its modes are free to play.
Put this game on your own site
Free for teachers and schools, with no account and no ads inside the frame. Paste the code into a lesson page, a blog post or a learning platform. It works on phones, and it keeps the language of the page you copied it from.
More free music games
More free tools on Songtive
- Chord formulas and symbolsHow every chord is built, and what each symbol on a chart means.
- Piano chord dictionaryEvery chord on the keyboard, with fingering and notation.
- Music theory exercisesBrowser quizzes on note names, intervals, chords, scales and key signatures.
- Intervals chartInterval names, semitones, inversions and audio.
- Circle of fifthsAn interactive circle with key signatures and diatonic chords.
Get ChordIQ — free
More than thirty game modes for staff reading, ear training, rhythm, singing, chords and scales. Piano, guitar, ukulele or bass.
Frequently asked questions
What is a chord recognition game?
It shows you a chord, lit on a keyboard or written on the staff, and asks you to name it against a clock. Short scored rounds turn the repetition that builds recognition into something you want to repeat. This one is free and runs in the browser.
How do I identify a chord from written notes?
Stack the notes in thirds, treat the bottom one as the root, then measure the distances to the notes above it in semitones. Four then three is major, three then four is minor, three and three is diminished, four and four is augmented. A seventh chord adds one more distance on top.
Is this chord identification practice free?
Yes. All four levels, both clefs and every chord type are free, and there is no signup and nothing to download.
What is the difference between chord recognition and ear training?
This page trains the eye: you read a chord and name it. Ear training asks the same question about a chord you only hear. Both are worth having, and they improve faster when you practise them apart than when you mix them in one session.
How do I recognise a chord inversion?
Look for the gap wider than a third and rotate the stack so it begins just above that gap. The note you move to the bottom is the root, and the chord keeps its name whichever of its notes is lowest.
Which chords should I practise first?
Major against minor until the answer arrives without counting, then diminished and augmented, then inversions, and seventh chords last. The four levels run in that order for that reason.
How do I get faster at naming chords?
Practise one thing at a time. Stay on major against minor until the answer arrives without counting, then add the next level. Short scored rounds beat long sessions, because speed here is recognition and recognition is built by repetition spread over days.
Is there a chord recognition app?
ChordIQ is the app version of this page, free on iPhone and Android, with Two Chords, Major or Minor, Chord Qualities up to m7b5 and sus4, Guess Chord, Play Chord and Inversions on piano, guitar, ukulele or bass. One thing to be clear about: it will not listen to a recording and tell you the chord. It trains you to name chords yourself.
