HelpCalc Music

Daily Chord

One hidden chord a day and six guesses. Each guess shows you which notes are in it.

How to play

  • Find the hidden chord in 6 guesses. It's one of 96: the 12 roots as major, minor, 7, maj7, m7, dim, sus4 or m7b5.
  • Type any chord name. A check means that note is in the hidden chord, and an X means it isn't. The first tile also says if your root is right.
  • The same notes under another name also win.

Loading today's chord…

How to play Daily Chord

  1. Look at how many notes today's chord has. That number is shown from the start.
  2. Type a chord name and press Guess. You'll see how it reads before it counts.
  3. Read the tiles. Each note of your guess is marked as in the chord (a check) or not in the chord (an X). The tile for your root also says “is root” or “not root”.
  4. Keep going until you've found it or used all 6 guesses.

The hidden chord is always one of 96: the 12 roots, each as major, minor, 7, maj7, m7, dim, sus4 or m7b5. Your guesses can be wider than that. A 9th, an add9 or a slash chord is a fair way to test several notes at once.

A strategy, with an example round

Start with a common chord, then use the note count. If the hidden chord has three notes, it's major, minor, dim or sus4. If it has four, it's 7, maj7, m7 or m7b5. Here is a round where the hidden chord has four notes.

C

  • C, in the chord, not the actual root
  • E, in the chord
  • G, in the chord

Cmaj7

  • C, in the chord, not the actual root
  • E, in the chord
  • G, in the chord
  • B, not in the chord

C6

  • C, in the chord, not the actual root
  • E, in the chord
  • G, in the chord
  • A, in the chord
  • C (C E G) has all three notes in the chord, but C isn't the root. With four notes to find, one is still missing, and the root is one of the other notes.
  • Cmaj7 (C E G B) tests B, which is out. The fourth note isn't B.
  • C6 (C E G A) tests A, and that wins in three. You played C6, today's chord is also written Am7.

A few other habits help. When a note is out, avoid it in later guesses. When most notes are in but the root is wrong, try the same notes on another root. If you're stuck, press Hear it. Listen for whether the chord sounds major, minor or suspended before you spend a guess.

Why chords with the same notes count

A chord name describes notes and how they're being heard, and one set of notes can have more than one name. C6 is C E G A and Am7 is A C E G: the same four notes. Which name fits depends on the bass and the harmony around it, and there's no way to know that in a puzzle. So if your guess has the same notes as the answer, you win, and the result shows you the other name.

Suspended chords work the same way. Csus4 is C F G and Fsus2 is F G C. Either one wins if the answer is Csus4.

If a guess is wrong, its other name is wrong too, but it does have a different root, and the root tile can tell you something new. So C6 after Am7 counts as a new guess. C# after Db doesn't. Those two have the same root and notes, so that repeat won't use up a turn.

How the notes are spelled

Each tile is spelled for the chord you typed, using one letter for each step of the chord. So C# major reads C# E# G#, with E# and not F, while Db major reads Db F Ab. Those sound the same, and the game compares what they sound like, so C# and Db count as the same note everywhere.

The same rule gives C diminished as C Eb Gb, and F minor 7 as F Ab C Eb. At the end, the answer is shown in the spelling that's easiest to read. That may differ from the spelling on your tiles, which is why you can guess C# and see the answer written as Db.

Frequently asked questions

When does the chord change?

At midnight on your device's clock. Each calendar date has one chord, so someone in another time zone may reach it earlier or later than you.

Which chords can be the answer?

The 12 roots, each as major, minor, 7, maj7, m7, dim, sus4 or m7b5. That's 96 chords. The game goes through all of them before any chord comes back.

Does using Hear it hurt my score?

No. It's a free hint. It never shows the chord's name, and sound only starts when you press it.

What happens if I type something it can't read?

You get a message and keep your turn. The same goes for a chord you've already tried.

Where are my streak and stats kept?

In this browser, using local storage. There's no account, so clearing your site data or changing devices starts them over. The game still works if storage is turned off, but it won't remember anything after you leave the page.

Is anything I type sent anywhere?

No. Your guesses stay in your browser. When analytics is on, it can record that the page was used and, when a game ends, whether it was won and how many guesses it took.

Does sharing give away the chord?

No. Copy results gives the puzzle number, your score, a grid of squares and a link.

Is it free?

Yes, with no signup and no download.

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