Chord Ear Trainer

How to use the chord ear trainer

1. Tick the chord types to practise. Major, minor, diminished and augmented is a good first set.
2. Leave inversions off at first. Switch them on when root position feels easy.
3. Press Play to hear a chord. Replay with the button or the R key.
4. Answer with a tap or the number keys 1 to 9.
5. Check the staff and keyboard to see exactly which notes were played.

Choose block chords to hear every note at once, or broken chords to hear the notes from low to high. Score, streak and accuracy per chord type last only for the current page visit.

What each chord type contains

Listening tips

Major sounds bright and settled, minor sounds darker. Diminished sounds tense and compressed, augmented sounds open and floating. A dominant 7th wants to resolve, a major 7th sounds smooth, a minor 7th sounds mellow.

With inversions on, the lowest note changes but the quality does not. Listen to the colour of the whole chord and ignore which note is on the bottom.

Common questions

Which chords should I learn first?

Start with major and minor, then add diminished and augmented. Add the three seventh chords once the triads feel reliable.

Why do inversions make it harder?

The bass note no longer matches the chord name, so you cannot rely on the lowest sound. Learning to hear quality through inversions is a useful skill for playing from chord symbols.

Is a diminished chord always hard to hear?

It often sounds like a minor chord with a sour fifth. Replay it slowly in broken style and listen for the two stacked minor thirds.

Do the chords use real piano sounds?

No. The trainer synthesises simple tones in your browser, so there is nothing to download. The timbre is plain on purpose, so you focus on the pitches.