How to find any chord's name from its notes
You found a shape that sounds great, and you have no idea what it's called. Good news: working it out takes four steps and a little counting. Do it a few times and chord names stop feeling like a secret code.
By Todd Fisher. The diagrams and note names here come from the same code as our tools, and they're tested. See something wrong? Let me know.
The four steps
- List the notes. Figure out the note on each string or key, then cross out the repeats.
- Guess the root. Start with the lowest note. It's the root more often than not.
- Measure from that root. Count how far each note sits above it, then look for a match in the table below.
- Check the bass. If the lowest note isn't the root, add a slash and that note. C/E is a C chord with E in the bass.
No match in step three? Try the next note as the root. With three or four notes, you won't be at it for long.
The chord formulas you need
A formula tells you how far each note is from the root. R is the root, and 3 means the third note of the root's major scale. A flat takes a note down one fret, and a sharp takes it up one. Look at the first two rows: the whole difference between major and minor is one fret on the 3rd.
| Type | Written | Formula | In C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major | C | R 3 5 | C E G |
| Minor | Cm | R b3 5 | C Eb G |
| Suspended 4th | Csus4 | R 4 5 | C F G |
| Suspended 2nd | Csus2 | R 2 5 | C D G |
| Diminished | Cdim | R b3 b5 | C Eb Gb |
| Augmented | Caug | R 3 #5 | C E G# |
| Dominant 7th | C7 | R 3 5 b7 | C E G Bb |
| Major 7th | Cmaj7 | R 3 5 7 | C E G B |
| Minor 7th | Cm7 | R b3 5 b7 | C Eb G Bb |
| Major 6th | C6 | R 3 5 6 | C E G A |
Finding the note on a string
A guitar's open strings are E A D G B E, low to high, and every fret goes up one semitone. The notes run C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab, A, A#/Bb, B, then back to C. Watch out for two spots with no sharp or flat in between: E to F, and B to C. So the A string at fret 3 goes A#, B, C, and there's your note.
Five shapes worked through
Each circle shows its note name, and the root is the colored one. Tap a note to hear it.
An easy one: x-3-2-0-1-0
Strings: A fret 3 = C, D fret 2 = E, G open = G, B fret 1 = C, high E open = E.
The notes are C, E and G. Start from the lowest note, C. E is its 3rd and G is its 5th, which matches the major formula. So it's a C chord.
Four different notes: 3-2-0-0-0-1
Strings: low E fret 3 = G, A fret 2 = B, D open = D, G open = G, B open = B, high E fret 1 = F.
Start from G, the lowest note. B is the 3rd and D is the 5th. F sits a whole step below G, so that's a b7. Root, 3, 5 and b7 make a dominant 7th: G7.
Where's the 3rd? x-x-0-2-3-3
Strings: D open = D, G fret 2 = A, B fret 3 = D, high E fret 3 = G.
From D, A is the 5th and G is the 4th. There's no F or F#, so there's no 3rd at all. When a 4th replaces the 3rd, you've got a suspended chord: Dsus4. Play it and you'll hear it wanting to fall back to D.
The bass isn't the root: x-2-0-0-0-3
Strings: A fret 2 = B, D open = D, G open = G, B open = B, high E fret 3 = G.
The lowest note is B, but B, D and G don't fit any formula from B. So try G as the root. B is its 3rd and D is its 5th, which makes it a G chord with B in the bass: G/B.
Two right answers: x-0-2-0-1-0
Strings: A open = A, D fret 2 = E, G open = G, B fret 1 = C, high E open = E.
The notes are A, C, E and G. From A, that's R, b3, 5 and b7, so Am7. From C, it's R, 3, 5 and 6, so C6. Neither is wrong. With A in the bass, most people would call this Am7. Put C in the bass in a song in C, and those same notes become C6.
Now try your own
Tap the frets, or tap above a string to mute it. Name the chord yourself first, then check your answer. The steps above work themselves out for whatever you play.
- List the notes. A: C, D: E, G: G, B: C, high E: E. Without repeats: C, E, G.
- Lowest note: C. Start there when you look for the root.
- Distances from the root: R, M3, P5.
- Name: C
Shortcuts worth knowing
- Ignore repeats. Six strings often play only three different notes.
- Find the 3rd first. It tells you major or minor, and that's most of the name.
- Think about the song. When a chord has two possible names, go with the one that fits the key. Here's which chords belong to a key.
- On banjo and ukulele, the lowest note might not be on the string you'd expect, because some strings are tuned high. Go by pitch, not position.
And when you'd rather just keep playing, tap the shape into the chord identifier and let the computer do the counting.
Frequently asked questions
What if a note is missing from the chord?
Happens all the time. Guitarists often drop the 5th, because it adds the least character. Root, 3rd and 7th still sounds like a 7th chord. Lose the 3rd and it gets harder to call major or minor, which is why a two-note power chord works over both.
Why does one chord have more than one name?
Because you can read the same notes from different roots. A C E G is both Am7 and C6. The bass note and the song around it usually tell you which name to use.
What's the difference between a slash chord and an inversion?
An inversion has one of the chord's own notes in the bass, like C/E. A slash chord can also put a note from outside the chord in the bass, like C/D. They're written the same way: chord, slash, bass note.
Does this work on piano?
Yes. Steps two to four are exactly the same. Step one is even easier on piano, because you can see every note you're holding.