Chord Identifier: What Chord Is This?
Know the shape but not the name? Mark the notes on the keyboard or the frets on acoustic or electric guitar, cavaquinho, viola caipira, ukulele, mandolin or bass, and the chord identifier tells you what it is: the chord symbol (C/E, Am7, F♯m7♭5), the full name, the inversion and the role of each note.
How to use it
- Choose Keyboard, Neck or Microphone.
- On the keyboard, tap the keys to mark or unmark them. The lowest note is the bass of the chord.
- On the neck, choose the instrument and the tuning and tap the fret on each string. Above the neck, o is an open string and x is a string you don't play; tap there to switch.
- Read the name, the inversion and the other possible names. Play lets you hear what you marked and See shapes in the chord chart shows other ways to play the same chord.
- In microphone mode, play the chord on your instrument and let it ring near your phone or computer.
Help and explanations
The tool tests all twelve roots and almost thirty chord types and picks the simplest name that explains the notes. Since the same group of notes can have more than one name (A, C, E and G are Am7 or C6 with A in the bass), the other readings appear right below and become the main name with one tap.
Inversions and bass notes: why you see C/E
When the lowest note isn't the root, the chord is inverted and the symbol shows the bass after a slash. C, E and G with E at the bottom is C/E (first inversion, third in the bass); with G at the bottom, it is C/G (second inversion). If the bass isn't even part of the chord, like D major with C in the bass, the symbol is D/C.
One chord, several names
Some combinations are ambiguous: A, C, E and G can be Am7 or C6/A, and C, E♭, G♭ and A make a diminished seventh chord with four names (Cdim7, E♭dim7, F♯dim7 and Adim7). The identifier lists first the name with the root in the bass and the most common type, but the music decides: look at the key and the surrounding chords. If the fifth is missing, the result says so, because many guitar and ukulele shapes leave it out.
How microphone mode works
The browser computes the spectrum of the sound and adds up the strength of each note across the twelve pitch classes (C, C♯, D...), a so-called chromagram. The bars show that strength, and the closest chord appears once the reading is stable. It works with one chord at a time, from one instrument, in a quiet room; it can't pull the chords out of a recorded song. The audio is processed on your device and never sent anywhere.
Tips
- Marked only two notes? The result shows the interval (major third, perfect fifth...) and the most likely chord, which may be missing its fifth.
- For chords with a 9th, 11th or 13th, mark the extension in any octave: the note is what counts, and the bass is always the lowest note.
- On the neck, check Left-handed to see the diagram mirrored.
- In a noisy room the microphone mode makes more mistakes; mark the notes on the keyboard to be sure.
- Want to go the other way, from the name to the shapes? Use the guitar chord chart.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find a chord's name from its notes?
Mark the notes on the keyboard or the frets on the neck and read the chord symbol that appears. The identifier compares the notes with every chord type on every root and shows the simplest name first, with the other possible names below.
Can it identify a chord by sound?
Yes, in Microphone mode: play a chord and let it ring. It works best with a guitar, piano or ukulele on its own and no background noise. It can't work out all the chords of a recorded song, because it listens to one chord at a time.
What is a chord inversion?
It is a chord played with another of its notes in the bass. In first inversion the third is in the bass (C/E), in second inversion the fifth (C/G) and, in seventh chords, third inversion puts the seventh in the bass (C7/B♭).
Why does the same chord show more than one name?
Because the same set of notes can be read in more than one way: Am7 and C6/A have the same notes. The first name is the most likely one; the context of the song decides which to use.
Does it work with ukulele, mandolin and other instruments?
Yes. In Neck mode, choose the instrument and the tuning (ukulele in G C E A, mandolin in G D A E, cavaquinho and viola caipira in their Brazilian tunings, among others). The bass is always the lowest note that sounds, even on the ukulele, where the top string is a high one.
What does "no fifth" mean?
That the chord was recognized even without its fifth, a note many shapes leave out without changing the chord type. The third and the seventh are what make a chord major, minor or a seventh chord.
Is the microphone audio recorded or uploaded?
No. The analysis happens in the browser, on your device. No audio is sent or stored.