Chord Finder
Pick a root note and a chord quality to see the exact notes — major, minor, seventh, and more, for guitar or piano.
A chord is a set of notes stacked from a root. Add each interval in the chord’s formula (in semitones) to the root, wrapping every 12 semitones back into the octave. A C major chord uses 0-4-7, giving C E G; a Cmaj7 adds the 11th semitone for C E G B.
How chords are built
A chord is three or more notes sounded together, built by stacking thirds above a root. A third skips one letter name — C up to E, E up to G — and comes in two sizes: a major third (4 semitones) and a minor third (3 semitones). Which sizes you stack, and in what order, is what makes a chord major, minor, diminished, or augmented.
A three-note chord is a triad. A major triad stacks a major third then a minor third (4 + 3), so from C you get C, E, G. A minor triad flips the order (3 + 4), giving C, E♭, G. Add one more third on top and you reach a seventh chord — a four-note chord like Cmaj7 (C E G B) or the dominant C7 (C E G B♭) — the harmonic backbone of jazz, blues, and pop.
Each chord note is the root’s position plus the interval in semitones, taken modulo 12 so it stays within the octave. C major = 0-4-7 counted up the chromatic scale from C.
Worked example
Spell an A minor chord. Minor is the formula 0-3-7, and A sits at position 9 in the chromatic scale (0 = C).
- 1 Locate the root. Number the chromatic scale from C: C = 0, C♯ = 1, D = 2, up to B = 11. A is 9.
- 2 Choose the chord formula. A minor triad is 0-3-7 semitones: root, minor third, perfect fifth.
- 3 Add each interval to the root. 9 + 0 = 9, 9 + 3 = 12, 9 + 7 = 16.
- 4 Wrap values back into the octave. Take each result modulo 12: 9, 12 mod 12 = 0, 16 mod 12 = 4.
- 5 Read off the note names. Positions 9, 0, 4 are A, C, E — so A minor is A C E.
Chord qualities and their formulas
Interval formula in semitones from the root, with the notes each quality produces on a C root. Notes are spelled with sharps from the chromatic scale.
| Quality | Formula (semitones) | Example on C |
|---|---|---|
| Major | 0-4-7 | C E G |
| Minor | 0-3-7 | C D♯ G |
| Diminished | 0-3-6 | C D♯ F♯ |
| Augmented | 0-4-8 | C E G♯ |
| Sus2 | 0-2-7 | C D G |
| Sus4 | 0-5-7 | C F G |
| Major 6 | 0-4-7-9 | C E G A |
| Minor 6 | 0-3-7-9 | C D♯ G A |
| Dominant 7 | 0-4-7-10 | C E G A♯ |
| Major 7 | 0-4-7-11 | C E G B |
| Minor 7 | 0-3-7-10 | C D♯ G A♯ |
| Minor 7♭5 (half-diminished) | 0-3-6-10 | C D♯ F♯ A♯ |
| Diminished 7 | 0-3-6-9 | C D♯ F♯ A |
| Dominant 9 | 0-4-7-10-14 | C E G A♯ D |
| Add9 | 0-4-7-14 | C E G D |
Reading the spellings
This tool spells every note with sharps from the chromatic scale, so a note may not match the letter name a musician would write. A C minor chord shows as C D♯ G, but the third is properly written E♭ — the same key on a piano, since D♯ and E♭ are enharmonic. Traditional notation names one note per letter (C, E♭, G), which is why the flat spelling looks tidier on a staff even though the pitch is identical.
The order shown is root position, the notes stacked from the root upward. Real players reorder or double notes to form inversions and voicings — a guitarist’s open C uses C E G spread across six strings — but the set of pitch classes stays the same. Start from the root-position spelling here, then rearrange to suit the instrument.