C minor seventh
C–E♭–G–B♭ combines a minor triad with a minor seventh. Rotate the four tones to compare every bass position while keeping the pitch set visible.
Open C minor seventh →Interactive piano reference
Music theory,
made visible.
Explore piano chords, scales, intervals and keys on an interactive keyboard. ChordMetric keeps the written notes, sounding pitches and theoretical relationships connected, so you can see what changed instead of memorising an isolated shape.
Try it nowWorking demo
C major
C = C · E · G
CEG
C – E – G1–3–5
Four primary tools
Start with the question you have
Each tool exposes a complete text answer alongside the visual control. Change one musical decision at a time, then follow the selected result into its root, key, interval or print reference.
01
Chord Explorer
Build, hear and compare piano chords.
Open tool →02Reverse Chord Finder
Select notes and identify exact or partial structures.
Open tool →03Scale Explorer
See scale notes, degrees, direction and keyboard positions.
Open tool →04Circle of Fifths
Connect keys, signatures and diatonic chords.
Open tool →One connected product
Follow a chord into its scale, key and circle position
Suppose you choose D major. The chord explorer gives D–F♯–A, the scale explorer expands that tonic to D–E–F♯–G–A–B–C♯, the harmony tool derives seven correctly spelled diatonic triads, and the circle explains why D major carries two sharps. These are different views of one central data model rather than separate formula-swapped articles.
- 01D major chord
D · F♯ · A
Open selected chord - 02D major scale
D · E · F♯ · G · A · B · C♯
Open selected scale - 03D major harmony
I D · ii E · iii F♯ · IV G · V A · vi B · vii° C♯
Open selected harmony - 04Circle position
Two sharps: F♯ and C♯ · relative B minor
Open the circle
Browse chords by root
Twelve pitch centres in one working explorer
Choose the note you can see or the spelling you already know. Each link opens the chord explorer in that exact state; ChordMetric does not publish twelve near-identical root articles simply to repeat the same quality table.
Understand the keyboard
The pattern repeats; the note function changes.
A piano octave contains seven white-key letter names and five black-key positions. C is immediately to the left of every group of two black keys; F is immediately to the left of every group of three. That repeating landmark lets you orient yourself anywhere on an 88-key keyboard.
A black key can usually take a sharp or flat name, but the surrounding chord or scale decides which is meaningful. F♯ and G♭ sound alike in equal temperament, yet C–F♯ is an augmented fourth while C–G♭ is a diminished fifth. ChordMetric keeps that written distinction visible beside the keyboard.
Read the keyboard guideCC♯D♭DD♯E♭EFF♯G♭GG♯A♭AA♯B♭B
Popular reference examples
Four answers you can open, change and print
Each example links to the exact interactive state or authoritative hub that supplies its answer.
A harmonic minor
A–B–C–D–E–F–G♯ raises the seventh of A natural minor. F to G♯ is an augmented second: adjacent letters spanning three semitones.
Open A harmonic minor →C to F sharp
C to F♯ spans six semitones and is written as an augmented fourth. The written letter span distinguishes it from the enharmonic C to G♭ diminished fifth.
Compare intervals →E♭ major
E♭–F–G–A♭–B♭–C–D uses three flats: B♭, E♭ and A♭. Its relative minor is C minor; its primary triads are E♭, A♭ and B♭.
Open E♭ harmony →Browse by task
Move from a musical question to a checkable answer
Beginners can start with keyboard orientation and plain-language answers. Teachers can open a labelled diagram with a complete text equivalent. Composers can transpose relationships by Roman numeral without tying them to named songs. Practice references stay bounded and avoid medical or guaranteed-learning claims.
Inside the reference library
Fewer pages, stronger answers
The focused rebuild deliberately consolidates repetitive chord, scale, key, interval, practice and print leaves into authoritative tools, charts and differentiated guides. A route survives only when it answers a distinct question better than the central tool alone.
Major and minor
C major versus A minor
C major is C–D–E–F–G–A–B. A natural minor is A–B–C–D–E–F–G. They share a signature but organise the pitches around different tonics.
Compare key relationships →Chord construction
One changed degree
C major is C–E–G; C minor is C–E♭–G. Keeping the root and fifth fixed isolates the lowered third.
Build chords step by step →Pentatonic spelling
Explicit omitted degrees
C major pentatonic is C–D–E–G–A because it selects degrees 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6.
Open the exact scale →New to theory
Build the vocabulary in order
Start with the keyboard’s black-key groups, then read intervals as both letter spans and semitone distances. Use those intervals to build triads and seventh chords. Finally, place chords inside scales and keys. Each guide includes original diagrams, text equivalents, worked comparisons and a short reference sequence.
Quick reference
Go straight to a precise answer
If you already know the term, use the root, quality, scale-type, key and interval indexes. The live tools retain all state on one canonical route, while substantial landing pages provide the complete accessible answer and contextual links.
Print resources
Clean views backed by the live answer
Printable chord, scale, keyboard, signature, circle and inversion references are generated from the same central data used on screen. The landing page retains the complete HTML answer, explanation and preview; paper size or colour choices do not become duplicate indexable pages.
Preview printable referencesMethod and validation
A testable central theory model
The engine separates pitch class from spelled note, uses explicit degree maps for pentatonic scales and labels chromatic direction. Supported results are covered by automated tests and compared with the references and conventions documented in the methodology. ChordMetric is independent and claims no professional or institutional endorsement.
Read the methodology and source register