The chord index
All Chords — Every Chord on Every Instrument
360 chords, 30 qualities, twelve roots. Every one of them has a page with its notes, its intervals, the keys it lives in, and a playable diagram for guitar, piano, ukulele, bass, mandolin and banjo.
Three ways to browse the chord index
1 · By root
You know the letter. Jump to its shelf.
2 · By quality
You know the suffix — m7, maj7, sus4 — but not what it means.
3 · By instrument
You just want the shapes for the thing in your hands.
What the suffixes mean
Every quality in the catalog, with a C-rooted example you can open and hear. The same recipe works from any of the twelve roots below.
Triads
Three notes — root, third, fifth. Every other family is a triad with something added or moved.
Sevenths
A fourth note a seventh above the root. Where jazz, soul and blues harmony start.
- C7Dominant 7thTense; wants to resolve down a fifth. Blues and jazz workhorse.
- Cmaj7Major 7thDreamy, sophisticated. Tonic of jazz ballads.
- Cm7Minor 7thSmooth, mellow. The ii in ii-V-I.
- Cm(maj7)Minor-Major 7thSinister, James Bond-ish. Tonic of harmonic minor.
- Cdim7Diminished 7thSymmetrical; passes through every key. Used as a dominant substitute.
- Cm7♭5Half-Diminished 7th (m7♭5)The ii in a minor ii-V-i.
Suspended
The third is replaced by a second or a fourth, so the chord is neither major nor minor.
Sixths
A sixth stacked on the triad — sweeter and less restless than the equivalent seventh.
Extended
Ninths, elevenths and thirteenths — sevenths that keep stacking thirds upward.
- C6/96/9Lush, neutral substitute for major triads.
- C9Dominant 9thFunky, soulful; James Brown territory.
- Cmaj9Major 9thLush, gentle; jazz ballads and neo-soul.
- Cm9Minor 9thSmooth, sophisticated; neo-soul staple.
- C11Dominant 11thDense; usually voiced rootless.
- C13Dominant 13thBig; jazz V chord at full extension.
Altered
A dominant with a sharpened or flattened fifth or ninth. Maximum tension before a resolution.
Added tone
A ninth added straight onto the triad, with no seventh in between.
Power
Root and fifth only. No third, so it is neither major nor minor — the rock staple.
Inversions
The same notes with a different one in the bass. Changes the voice leading, not the harmony.
Every chord, root by root
Accidental roots hold both spellings — the catalog files major-family chords under the flat and minor-family chords under the sharp, exactly as a score would.
C
30 chords
C♯
also D♭
30 chords
D
30 chords
E♭
also D♯
30 chords
E
30 chords
F
30 chords
F♯
also G♭
30 chords
G
30 chords
A♭
also G♯
30 chords
A
30 chords
B♭
also A♯
30 chords
B
30 chords