Chord Builder & Ear Trainer
Build triads and seventh chords in every inversion, then learn to hear their quality and bass note.
What it trains
Chord Builder & Ear Trainer covers the chords at the centre of most music: major, minor, diminished and augmented triads, and major 7th, dominant 7th, minor 7th, half-diminished 7th and diminished 7th chords, in every inversion. You build them on the keyboard and fretboard, spell them, and identify them by ear.
- Building any triad or seventh chord on the keyboard and on the fretboard
- Spelling chords correctly, including double flats in diminished 7ths
- Hearing chord quality (major, minor, diminished, augmented and the five seventh-chord types)
- Hearing which chord tone is in the bass: root position, 1st, 2nd or 3rd inversion
Exercises
- Build on the keyboard
- Press the keys of the chord in the inversion shown. The lowest note must be the right chord tone.
- Build on the fretboard
- Tap one note per string to make the chord in the inversion shown.
- Spell the chord
- Enter the chord tones from the root up with correct spelling.
- Quality by ear
- Hear a chord and name its quality.
- Inversion by ear
- Hear a chord and name its inversion.
Try it
A short interactive demo built from the same code as the real tool.
Settings you can change
- Chord types included (any combination of the four triads and five seventh chords)
- Inversions included
- Root difficulty: natural roots only, or roots with sharps and flats
- Ear training playback: block chord, broken chord first, or both
- Tone (keyboard or guitar), tuning and left-handed fretboard
- Session length
Instruments and clefs
Piano keyboard, guitar fretboard (six tunings, left-handed option), and treble and bass staff.
Reference view
The chord dictionary shows every triad and seventh chord on any root and in any inversion, on staff, keyboard and fretboard, with block and broken playback.
Who it’s for
- Guitarists and keyboard players who want to understand the chords they play
- Theory students learning inversions and seventh chords
- Anyone who wants to hear the difference between chord qualities
Who it isn’t for
- Players looking for a chord-shape dictionary to strum along with songs
- Jazz players after extended and altered chords (those are in the Jazz Harmony Studio)
What you need
- A modern web browser on a computer, tablet or phone
- Speakers or headphones
- The ability to hear audio — this tool includes ear training that depends on listening
About the sound: all instrument sounds are synthesized in your browser. They are not recordings of real instruments.
In every tool
- Instant feedback on every answer, with ✓ and ✗ marks and the correct answer shown.
- Settings that save themselves, plus named practice sets you can switch between.
- A session summary when you finish, with your accuracy and the items to review.
- A reference view for looking things up without being quizzed.
- Progress and streaks: accuracy over time and your weakest items, stored only on your device.
- Progress backup: move your progress to another device with a backup code or file.
- Works offline once unlocked, and installs to your home screen or desktop.
- Keyboard shortcuts, visible focus, a larger-interface setting, and dark mode.