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Learn to read music

Piano chord chart

The major and the minor chord on each of the twelve keys: 24 triads, each written on the treble staff over the three keys it plays. Print it and keep it on the music rest.

It prints on one landscape page (Ctrl+P, or ⌘P on a Mac).

Major chords

  • C major

    C – E – G

    in 153 pieces

  • D♭ major

    D♭ – F – A♭

    in 18 pieces

  • D major

    D – F♯ – A

    in 110 pieces

  • E♭ major

    E♭ – G – B♭

    in 33 pieces

  • E major

    E – G♯ – B

    in 55 pieces

  • F major

    F – A – C

    in 98 pieces

  • F♯ major

    F♯ – A♯ – C♯

    in 16 pieces

  • G major

    G – B – D

    in 147 pieces

  • A♭ major

    A♭ – C – E♭

    in 20 pieces

  • A major

    A – C♯ – E

    in 68 pieces

  • B♭ major

    B♭ – D – F

    in 57 pieces

  • B major

    B – D♯ – F♯

    in 29 pieces

Minor chords

  • C minor

    C – E♭ – G

    in 32 pieces

  • C♯ minor

    C♯ – E – G♯

    in 13 pieces

  • D minor

    D – F – A

    in 73 pieces

  • E♭ minor

    E♭ – G♭ – B♭

    in 9 pieces

  • E minor

    E – G – B

    in 79 pieces

  • F minor

    F – A♭ – C

    in 16 pieces

  • F♯ minor

    F♯ – A – C♯

    in 30 pieces

  • G minor

    G – B♭ – D

    in 55 pieces

  • G♯ minor

    G♯ – B – D♯

    in 11 pieces

  • A minor

    A – C – E

    in 88 pieces

  • B♭ minor

    B♭ – D♭ – F

    in 13 pieces

  • B minor

    B – D – F♯

    in 30 pieces

How a major or minor chord is built

Major: from the root, count up 4 half steps to the 3rd, then 3 half steps to the 5th. C major is C, E and G.

Minor: 3 half steps to the 3rd, then 4 half steps. C minor is C, E♭ and G: the same root and 5th, the middle note one key lower.

Every chord here is the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of its own scale, so its letters skip one each time (C, skip, E, skip, G) and on the staff it sits on three lines in a row or three spaces in a row. C major, F major, G major, D minor, E minor and A minor use only white keys. The sharps and flats are the ones its key signature has: the scales guide shows each scale.

The chords the library's pieces play most

Counted in the 366 pieces of the library: a piece counts when both hands strike the chord's three notes together, in any order or octave, at least once.

ChordPiecesEasiest of them
C major153Ode to Joy (level 2)
G major147Berceuse, from Enfantillages pittoresques (level 2)
D major110Oh! Susanna (level 2)
F major98Berceuse, from Enfantillages pittoresques (level 2)
A minor88Berceuse, from Enfantillages pittoresques (level 2)
E minor79Berceuse, from Enfantillages pittoresques (level 2)
D minor73Berceuse, from Enfantillages pittoresques (level 2)
A major68If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee (level 2)

Inversions and the left hand

The chart shows each chord in root position, its root at the bottom. Pieces often stack the same three notes in another order (an inversion), spread them between the hands, or play them one after another; the chords guide shows how to read each one by its shape. In the left hand the letters are the same, written on the bass staff.

Now read them without the chart. The chords drill shows one chord at a time on the staff; play it on a MIDI keyboard or the keys on screen as soon as you read it. Every answer is timed and goes on your reading map.

Start the drill

How to read them: How to read chords: triads, inversions and sevenths. Also printable: the piano notes chart, every note on the grand staff over its key.