A chord is a group of notes sounded together to create harmony. Chords are the building blocks of harmonic structure in music — they accompany melodies, define the mood of a song, and drive musical movement through chord progressions. Learning chords is essential for guitarists, pianists, songwriters, and anyone who wants to understand how music works. Chords are built by stacking intervals on top of a root note. The specific combination of intervals determines the chord's quality and color: a major chord sounds bright and stable, a minor chord feels darker and more emotional, and a dominant seventh chord creates tension that naturally wants to resolve.

Types of Musical Chords

Chords are categorized by their structure and the number of notes they contain. Here are the main families of chords in our library:

Triads

The simplest and most fundamental chords, consisting of three notes: a root, a third, and a fifth. The four basic triad types — major, minor, diminished, and augmented — form the foundation of all chord harmony. Open major and minor triads on guitar are typically the first chords every musician learns.

Seventh Chords

Adding a fourth note — the seventh — to a triad creates a richer, more colorful sound. Major seventh chords (maj7) have a warm, sophisticated quality. Dominant seventh chords (7) create tension and drive. Minor seventh chords (m7) are smooth and versatile. Diminished and half-diminished sevenths add dark, mysterious harmonic colors.

Extended Chords

These chords build further by adding ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths above the seventh. Extended chords are essential in jazz, R&B, neo-soul, and modern pop music. A Cmaj9 or Dm11 can transform a simple progression into something sophisticated, lush, and harmonically interesting.

Altered Chords

Altered chords modify the fifth or ninth of a dominant chord (sharp 5, flat 5, sharp 9, flat 9), creating intense chromatic tension that resolves dramatically. Jazz musicians use altered dominant chords extensively for expressive harmonic movement over ii-V-I progressions.

Suspended Chords

Suspended chords (sus2, sus4) replace the third with a second or fourth, creating an open, ambiguous sound that is neither major nor minor. They are common in rock, pop, and ambient music, often used to add movement and anticipation between other chords in a progression.

Power Chords

Consisting of just a root and fifth with no third, power chords are neither major nor minor. They are the backbone of rock, punk, and metal guitar playing, delivering a heavy, direct sound that cuts through distortion and high-gain amplifier settings.

How to Learn Chords Effectively

Start with the most common open chords on guitar — C, G, D, E, A, Am, Em, Dm — or basic triads in all inversions on piano. Master smooth transitions between chords before adding complexity. Learn chord families within keys to understand which chords naturally belong together. Study different voicings: the same chord can be played in many positions across the fretboard or keyboard, and each voicing gives the chord a different texture. Most importantly, practice with real songs — apply your chord knowledge to music you love and analyze the progressions in your favorite tracks.

Explore Chords on TerryTrilla

Our interactive chord library provides visual diagrams for guitar and piano for every chord type. See how each chord is constructed from intervals, listen to its sound with built-in audio playback, and discover related voicings and chord variations. Use the interactive fretboard and keyboard to explore chord shapes across all positions and keys. Whether you are a beginner learning your first open chords or an advanced musician studying jazz voicings, TerryTrilla helps you master chords visually, audibly, and theoretically.

Chords Library

Triads4

Major

Minor

Diminished

Augmented

Seventh Chords8

Major 7th

Minor 7th

Dominant 7th

Half-Diminished 7th

Diminished 7th

Minor Major 7th

Augmented Major 7th

Augmented 7th

Extended Chords12

Major 9th

Minor 9th

Dominant 9th

Minor 9th b5

Major 9th #11

Dominant 9th #11

Dominant 9th b5

Dominant 9th #5

Major 11th

Minor 11th

Dominant 11th

Major 13th

What Are Musical Chords?