How do I work out the notes in a chord?

Start from the root note and count semitones. A major chord is the root plus the notes 4 and 7 semitones above it, so C major is C, E and G. A minor chord uses 3 and 7 semitones, a dominant 7th adds a note 10 semitones up, and a major 7th adds one 11 semitones up. Every chord type is a fixed semitone recipe applied to whichever root you choose.

What is the difference between a major and a minor chord?

Only the middle note changes. Both chords share the root and the perfect fifth 7 semitones above it, but a major chord places its third 4 semitones above the root while a minor chord places it 3 semitones up. That single semitone is the whole difference between C major (C, E, G) and C minor (C, Eb, G), and it is why major chords sound bright and minor chords sound darker.

Why does the chord finder sometimes show B sharp or a double flat?

Correct chord spelling uses each letter name exactly once, so a G sharp major chord is spelled G#, B# and D# even though B# sounds the same as C. The same rule produces double flats in chords like Eb diminished 7th, which contains B double flat and D double flat. These enharmonic spellings look odd on a keyboard diagram but they keep written music readable, because each scale degree keeps its own letter.

Chord Finder

This chord finder shows you the notes inside any chord: pick a root note and a chord type and it lists the notes, the interval pattern and the number of semitones each note sits above the root. It covers the chords you meet in everyday playing, from plain major and minor triads through suspended, diminished and augmented shapes to sixths, sevenths, half-diminished, add 9 and dominant 9th voicings. The finder also spells each chord properly, so Eb minor gives you Gb rather than F#, and every letter name appears exactly once, which matters when you are reading or writing notation rather than just finding frets. Guitarists use it to work out what notes a shape actually contains, piano players use it to build voicings in awkward keys, and songwriters use it to check which chords share notes before stitching a progression together. Producers working in a DAW piano roll find it handy too, because a piano roll shows pitches but never chord names. If you want to go the other way and turn a key into a whole set of chords, our chord progression generator builds complete progressions from classic patterns. Everything runs in your browser and the results update the moment you change either input.

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Root note

Chord type

C, E, G

notes in C major

Chord symbolC

Intervals1, 3, 5

Semitones from root0, 4, 7

C major is built from the root, a major third (4 semitones up) and a perfect fifth (7 semitones up).

Spelling follows standard practice: each chord uses each letter name once, so expect sharps, flats and occasionally double sharps or double flats depending on the root you choose. Extensions such as the 9th sit above the octave, which is why they show more than 12 semitones.

How it works

Every chord type is a fixed recipe of intervals measured in semitones above the root. A major triad is 0, 4 and 7 semitones; swap the 4 for a 3 and you have a minor triad; push the 7 up to 8 and the chord becomes augmented. Seventh chords add a fourth note 9, 10 or 11 semitones up depending on the flavour, and the add 9 and dominant 9th reach past the octave to 14 semitones. The finder applies your chosen recipe to the root, then spells each note using the rule that a chord climbs the musical alphabet one letter per scale degree: the third of any C chord is some kind of E, the fifth is some kind of G, and the sharp or flat is chosen to make the semitone count come out right. That is why G# major is spelled G#, B#, D# rather than G#, C, D#: the letters B and D belong to those degrees, and the accidentals do the tuning.

Worked example

Leave the defaults in place: root C, chord type major. The major recipe is intervals 1, 3 and 5, sitting 0, 4 and 7 semitones above the root. Count 4 semitones up from C and you land on E; count 7 and you land on G, so C major is C, E, G and the chord symbol is simply C. Now change the type to minor 7th: the recipe becomes 1, b3, 5 and b7 at 0, 3, 7 and 10 semitones, which from C gives C, Eb, G and Bb, written Cm7. Finally move the root to Eb with minor 7th still selected and the finder shows Eb, Gb, Bb and Db: the same shape shifted down, with flats chosen so each letter name appears exactly once.

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