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ToMIDI

Chord Finder: Name Any Chord From the Notes You Play

ToMIDI is a free chord finder that names the chord you play. Tap notes on a piano keyboard or a guitar fretboard, use your computer keys or, in Chrome or Edge, plug in a MIDI keyboard, and the chord name appears at once with its inversion, slash bass, other possible names, notes and intervals. Flip it around to build any chord from its name, or drop a recording for an estimate of its chords, bar by bar. Hear every chord, export it as a .mid file, and install nothing.

  • Piano and Guitar
  • MIDI Keyboard in Chrome and Edge
  • Chords From a Recording
  • Free, No Sign-up
Free · runs in your browser

Tap keys to add or remove notes. Swipe the keyboard for more octaves.

Chord

Cmaj7/E

C major seventh over E

First inversionAlso written CΔ7/E · CM7/E
Invert
Transpose
Spelling

Notes and intervals

1 3 5 7

  • 3E3Major thirdbass
  • 1C4Root
  • 5G4Perfect fifth
  • 7B4Major seventh

Try a chord

What a Chord Finder Does With Your Notes

A chord finder works backwards, from notes to a name. Pick C, E, G and B and it answers Cmaj7. Like a theory teacher on paper, it tries each note as the root, measures the intervals above it and matches them against chord types built from stacked thirds, from triads to sevenths, sixths, suspended and extended chords. The lowest note sets the inversion, so C, E and G over an E bass reads C/E. Octave and order change nothing else. Want the distance between just two of the notes? The interval calculator names it.

Find a Chord Now

When a Chord Finder Answer Looks Wrong

A surprising answer usually comes from the notes themselves, not from a bug. Before you second-guess the chord finder, check these:

  • The bass note changes the name: C, E, G and A over a C bass is C6, while the same four notes over an A bass read Am7.
  • A missing fifth is normal: C, E and B flat is still C7, because players drop the fifth all the time.
  • Spelling follows the chord: the same black key is G sharp in an E major chord and A flat in an F minor chord.
  • Two notes are not a full chord: C with G is a power chord (C5), but C with E could belong to C major, A minor and more.
  • Doubled notes count once: three Cs, an E and a G are still a plain C major triad.
Test a Tricky Shape

Why Use This Chord Finder

Most chord finder sites cover one instrument and stop at the name. This chord finder follows your hands, your MIDI keyboard and your ears.

  • Names it as you play

    Every note you add or remove updates the chord name instantly. There is no submit button and nothing reloads.

  • Piano, guitar or MIDI keyboard

    Click keys, tap frets string by string, type on your computer keyboard, or plug in a MIDI controller in Chrome or Edge and play the chord for real.

  • Every reading, ranked

    The best name comes first, with the inversion, the slash bass and the other names below it, so C6 and Am7/C never hide from each other.

  • Works in reverse

    Pick a root and a chord type to see its notes and intervals, lit on the keys and laid out as voicings on the fretboard.

  • Chords from a recording

    Drop an audio or video file and the chord finder estimates its chords bar by bar, with the key and tempo. Nothing is uploaded.

  • Hear it, then take it to your DAW

    Play the chord as a block or an arpeggio, then export it as a .mid file for any instrument track. Free, with no account.

How to Use the Chord Finder in Four Steps

From a shape under your fingers to a name you can write on a chart, in a few seconds.

  1. Notes to name is the default, with Name to notes and From a recording beside it. Choose the piano or the guitar neck, or connect a MIDI keyboard in Chrome or Edge and allow MIDI access when the browser asks.

  2. Click keys, type them on your computer keyboard or tap one fret per string. Clicked notes stay lit until you clear them, so you can build a chord one note at a time.

  3. The chord finder shows the name, the inversion or slash bass, each note with its interval above the root, and every other name those notes can take.

  4. Hear the chord as a block or an arpeggio, then save it as a .mid file for your DAW or notation app.

Step 1 · Pick a mode and an instrument

Chord Finder Features for Piano and Guitar

Both instruments, both directions and the sound of the chord, all on one page with the same chord in view.

A piano chord finder that takes a MIDI keyboard

Click keys on the on-screen piano, play the row from A to the semicolon on your computer keyboard (Z and X change octave), or connect a MIDI keyboard in Chrome or Edge and play: the notes you hold light up, and the chord finder names them and keeps the last chord when you let go. Labels show note names or degrees, and the chord is drawn on a staff. The quickest way to name a voicing found by ear, or a chord from song to piano notes.

Play a Chord

A guitar chord finder on a full fretboard

Tap a fret to place a finger, tap it again to mute the string, or tap left of the nut for an open string. The chord is read from the lowest string you play, just as it sounds, across 15 frets in standard tuning. Play virtual guitar chords and use it as an online guitar chord finder for shapes you invent: slide a barre, add a finger, and see whether you made a sus4, an add9 or a slash chord. As a guitar chord calculator it names stretch shapes no chart lists. Tuning first? The online tuner is one click away.

Tap a Shape

Inversions, slash chords and every other name

The lowest note sets the inversion. E under C and G is C/E, the first inversion; G in the bass is C/G, the second. When the bass is not part of the chord you get a slash chord, such as C over an F sharp bass (C/F♯). Under the top answer the chord finder lists up to five other names for the same notes, so you can pick the one that fits the key of your song. The arrow keys step through inversions and move the chord by a semitone. Not sure of the key? Ask the key finder.

Check an Inversion

Reverse mode: from a chord name to its notes

Know the name but not the shape? Type a symbol such as F♯m7, or choose a root and a type, and the chord finder lights F sharp, A, C sharp and E on the piano in close, open or drop 2 voicing, with playable guitar shapes and a map of every chord tone on the neck. That makes it a chord builder. Guitar players find new shapes up the neck with it, and pianists spell a lead sheet symbol before they play it or transpose the sheet music.

Build a Chord

Hear the chord, then export it as MIDI

Play the chord as a block or as an arpeggio to hear every note (Space and Shift+Space do the same). When it sounds right, export a .mid file and drop it on a track in FL Studio, Ableton Live or Logic Pro, or keep going in the chord progression generator.

Hear It

Find the chords of a recording

Switch the chord finder to From a recording and drop an audio or video file up to 300 MB, or try the Bach sample. The notes are detected in your browser with Basic Pitch, then named bar by bar, with two chords when the harmony changes halfway through a bar, plus the key and tempo. Play the file with the grid following along, copy the chord chart, or export the chords as a .mid. Treat this audio to chords mode as an estimate: it names triads, sevenths and sus4 chords only, clear piano or guitar works best, full band mixes come out rough, and the first 10 minutes are analysed. Turning an MP3 to chords this way never uploads it.

Drop a Recording

A Real Chord Finder Result: One Shape, Two Names

Four notes from a common pop voicing: C, E, G and A. Here is exactly what the chord finder reports, and why it changes with the bass.

What you are looking at

With C in the bass the answer is C6: a root, a major third, a perfect fifth and a major sixth. Put A at the bottom and the same notes become Am7, because A is now the root and C, E and G sit a minor third, a perfect fifth and a minor seventh above it. Over the C bass the chord finder still lists Am7/C as another name, which is the spelling a jazz chart would use. Try it on the keys above: the result switches the moment the bass changes.

Try It Yourself

Chord Finder Accuracy: What It Names and What It Does Not

Naming a chord from the notes you pick is music theory, not a guess, so a complete set of notes gets a definite answer. These are the limits.

Triads and seventh chords: exact

From notes you enter, the chord finder names major, minor, diminished, augmented, suspended, sixth and seventh chords right whenever all their notes are there.

Extended chords: read the alternatives

Ninths, elevenths and thirteenths often drop notes in real voicings, so a sparse shape can fit more than one name. Pick the one that suits the music.

Two-note shapes: a hint, not a verdict

A root and fifth is named as a power chord, but a lone third or sixth fits several chords. Add one more note and the chord finder can settle it.

Recordings: an estimate, bar by bar

From audio it names triads, sevenths and sus4 chords only, at most two per bar, so fast changes get merged. Clear piano or guitar works best and full band mixes come out rough. For the notes themselves, use our audio to MIDI converter.

Chord Finder vs a Chord Chart vs Working It Out by Ear

A chart is great when you know the name. A chord finder is for when you only know the notes.

Chord Finder vs a Chord Chart vs Working It Out by Ear
You start fromNotes you play, click or tapA chord name you already knowWhat you hear
Names a shape you inventedYesNoSlowly, with practice
InstrumentsPiano, guitar and MIDI keyboardsUsually one per chartAny
Inversions and slash chordsNamed from the bass noteRarely shownEasy to miss
Other names for the same notesListed under the top answerNoNo
Hear the chordBlock or arpeggioNoYes
Chords of a recordingAn estimate, bar by barNoYes, with a trained ear
Export.mid fileNoNo

Who Uses a Chord Finder

A chord finder is for anyone with a chord under their fingers and no name for it yet.

Guitarists

Use the guitar chord finder to name a shape you found while noodling, check a barre shape before you write it on a chart, or find a voicing higher up the neck. For the tab of a whole part, try the guitar tab generator.

Pianists and keyboard players

Play a voicing on a MIDI keyboard and let the chord finder write its symbol, or spell a lead sheet chord like Bm7♭5 before you play it. Learning from a recording? Piano audio to MIDI gets the notes down first.

Songwriters and producers

Let the chord finder name the chord you landed on, export it as MIDI and audition it on any synth. For chords that belong to your key, open the circle of fifths.

Students and teachers

Use the chord finder to see how intervals stack into triads and sevenths, and why an inversion keeps the name but changes the sound. Handy for homework checks.

Arrangers and transcribers

Name the chords of a part with the chord finder while you write a lead sheet, then fix the voicing note by note in the MIDI editor.

Players who learn by ear

Sketch the chords of a song you own from its recording, then check each one by playing it into the chord finder. The pitch detector checks single notes.

Chord Finder FAQ

Straight answers to what people ask before they name a chord.

How do I find a chord from its notes?

Enter the notes in the chord finder at the top of this page: click them on the piano, tap them on the fretboard, type them on your computer keyboard or play them on a MIDI keyboard. With three or more notes you get the chord name, its inversion and its other possible names. Two notes give the interval between them and the chords they could belong to, unless they form a power chord.

What chord is this? How do I name a chord I am playing?

Play it into the chord finder exactly as you hold it, bass note included. If you play guitar, tap the fret on each string and mute the ones you skip; on piano, play or click every key. The top answer is the most common name, and the list below it shows the others.

How do I use it as a guitar chord finder?

Switch to the fretboard, tap one fret on each string you play and mark the rest as open or muted. The guitar chord finder reads the shape from the low E string up, so the lowest string you play becomes the bass note of the chord name.

Can I use it as a piano chord finder with a MIDI keyboard?

Yes, in Chrome or Edge. Connect a USB or Bluetooth MIDI keyboard, allow MIDI access when the browser asks, and play. MIDI input does not work in Safari or Firefox, so use the on-screen keys or your computer keyboard there.

Why does the chord finder show more than one name?

Because the same notes can honestly be named in several ways. C, E, G and A is C6 or Am7/C, and B, D, F and A is Bm7♭5 or Dm6/B. The chord finder ranks the names, with the simplest reading over the bass note first, and lists the rest so you can pick the one that fits the key.

Does it name inverted chords and slash chords?

Yes. An inverted chord keeps its name and gets the bass after a slash: C/E is a C chord with E in the bass, labelled first inversion. When the bass note is not part of the chord at all, as in C/F♯, the result is labelled a slash chord.

What is a chord symbol?

It is the short name written above a melody or a lyric, such as Cmaj7, F♯m or G7/B. The letter is the root, the rest gives the chord type, and anything after a slash is the bass note. The chord finder writes its answers as chord symbols, so you can copy them straight onto a chart.

Can I find the notes of a chord from its name?

Yes, use Name to notes. Type a chord symbol or pick a root and a chord type, and the chord finder shows its notes, the interval of each note above the root, the keys on the piano and playable guitar shapes, so it doubles as a guitar chord builder online.

Can it find the chords of a song from a recording?

Yes, as an estimate. In From a recording mode, drop an audio or video file up to 300 MB and the chord finder detects the notes in your browser, then names one chord per bar, or two when the harmony changes halfway: triads, sevenths and sus4 only, from the first 10 minutes. Clear piano or guitar works best; full band mixes with drums and vocals come out rough. Check doubtful chords by opening them in the finder, and use the key finder for the key alone.

Is the chord finder free?

Yes, completely. The chord finder needs no account, sets no limit on lookups and puts no watermark on the MIDI export. Everything runs in your browser, so nothing you play or drop is sent anywhere.

Which chord types can it recognize?

From notes you enter, more than 40 types: power chords, major, minor, diminished and augmented triads, sus2 and sus4, sixth and 6/9 chords, the common sevenths (major 7, dominant 7, minor 7, half-diminished, diminished 7, minor-major 7), add9 and add11, ninths, elevenths and thirteenths, and altered dominants such as 7♭9 and 7♯9. From a recording it keeps to triads, sevenths and sus4.

Is a guitar chord calculator the same as a chord finder?

They are two names for the same idea. A chord calculator for guitar takes the frets you hold and returns the chord name; this chord finder does that and also takes piano keys, MIDI input and reverse lookups.

Can I export the chord as MIDI?

Yes. The chord finder saves the chord as a .mid file for any DAW or notation app, and in recording mode the whole chord track exports the same way. Open it in the MIDI editor to change the voicing.

Does the chord finder work on a phone?

Yes. On a phone the chord finder sizes keys and frets for fingers: swipe the keyboard for more octaves and step along the neck a few frets at a time. A MIDI keyboard needs Chrome or Edge.

Ready to Name Your Chord?

Click it, tap it or play it: the chord finder above names any chord from its notes in an instant, for piano and guitar, and sketches the chords of a recording too. Free, right in your browser.

Open the Chord Finder