Piano trainer
Root note
Chord family
Root note
Scale
Fingering, one octave up
Key
Accompaniment
Choose each hand separately
Practice
Notes in this bar
Chord chart
Tap a bar to jump there.
Reading chord symbols
Left part = triad, right part = extras. C is major, Cm or C− is minor, C° or Cdim is diminished, C+ or Caug is augmented.
Numbers are steps of the major scale built on the chord's own root, whatever key the song is in.
7 means a minor 7th. Maj7, M7 or Δ means a major 7th. Cm(maj7) is a minor chord with a major 7th.
6 is always a major 6th, also in Cm6. In jazz, "C6" is not the first inversion from classical harmony.
sus means no 3rd. sus2 uses the 2nd instead, sus4 uses the 4th.
Note names: B is written B (not H), sharps and flats as # and b. Double sharps and flats are usually simplified.
Slash chords: C/D means a C chord over a D bass note.
Alterations can be combined freely, for example C7(♭9♯5).
Chord numbers: 2 or 9? 6 or 13?
The same note has two numbers: 2 = 9, 4 = 11, 6 = 13. You never see 8, 10, 12 or 14, because those are 1, 3, 5 and 7 again.
Add or 2/4/6 only adds that one note: C2 = Cadd2 = Cadd9 = C D E G. C6 = C E G A.
A number above 7 includes everything below it: C9 = 9 7 5 3 1 = C E G B♭ D. Cm11 = 11 9 7 5 3 1.
13 chords usually leave out the 11, because the 11 clashes with the major 3rd. C13 = C E G B♭ D A.
The octave never changes the name. An A in C6 is still a 6th whether it sits low or high. 6 vs 13 depends on whether a 7th is there.
Naming any chord in 7 steps
- Put the notes in alphabetical order, then stack them in thirds (every other letter).
- Find the three notes that form the core triad.
- Decide its quality: major, minor, diminished, augmented or sus4.
- Is there a 4th note that works as the 6th or 7th (major or minor 7th)?
- Is there a 5th note that works as the 9th (or ♭9, #9)?
- Is there a 6th note that works as the 11th (or #11)?
- Is there a 7th note that works as the 13th (or ♭13)?
Careful: the same notes can have two names. D F A C is Dm7, but also F6 with D in the bass.
Learning an accompaniment, step by step
Adapted from the advice at the end of the songbook «Боже, спасибо» (Надежда Боброва).
- Get to know the song. Read the melody and words in the score, and listen to a recording.
- Split the accompaniment into sections: intro, verse, the link into the chorus, chorus, the link between verses, ending.
- Find the chords in each section and notice the texture: held chords, bass and chord, broken chords or figuration.
- Learn each section on its own. Write fingering into the hard places and count aloud. Hands separately, then together. Repeat the hard spots. Read the words and find where each section peaks. Balance the hands and keep the bass line smooth.
- Practise the joins between sections until they don't stop the flow.
- Play the whole accompaniment from start to end.
- Record yourself (audio or video) and listen back. Sing along with the recording: is there time to breathe between phrases? Does the playing suit the words?
How this app helps
Songs shows each song's sections and chords. Tap a bar to hear it.
Play takes one song at a time: step through it note by note, play one hand while the app plays the other, then both hands at a slow tempo.
Chords and Scales are for the chords and keys a song uses that you don't know yet.