Chord Identifier
Type the notes you are playing and find out what the chord is called, inversions included.
Chord
C
Major
| Chord | Name | Notes | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | Major | C E G | Root position |
Read as: C E G
You have a shape under your fingers and no idea what it is called. Type the notes, lowest first, and every name those notes can carry comes back, with the inversion worked out from the note you put in the bass.
How it works
Each note in turn is treated as a possible root, and the resulting set of intervals is matched against the chord catalogue. Octaves and doublings are ignored, so a voicing spread over two hands gives the same answer as the same chord played close.
When a set genuinely has several names they are all listed. C E G A is a C sixth and an A minor seventh at the same time, and which one you mean depends on the music around it, not on the notes. The reading whose root is in the bass is shown first.
Examples
| Case | Input | Result |
|---|---|---|
| A plain triad | C E G | C major |
| First inversion | E G C | C major, third in the bass |
| Two valid names | C E G A | C6 and Am7 |
Frequently asked questions
Why do I get two names for one chord?
Because both are correct. The same four notes are a sixth chord on one root and a seventh chord on another; the key and what comes next decide which reading a musician would use. Guessing for you would be worse than showing both.
Nothing was found.
The set is not in the catalogue. That happens with clusters, with quartal voicings, and with chords that are missing a note that would identify them. Adding the third or the seventh usually resolves it.
Does the order matter?
Only the first note matters, and only for working out the inversion. Everything after it is treated as a set, because that is what a chord is.
Good to know
- Identification works on pitch classes, so an inversion, a doubled note and a change of octave all give the same answer. What it cannot tell you is which note is in the bass, and that is often what decides the name a player would write.
- Only chords in the catalogue are named. One that is missing is a gap in the catalogue rather than a claim that it is not a chord.