Chord Progression Explorer

What Does This Tool Do?

It shows a chord progression big and centered, plus the notes of each chord, a short info blurb about the harmonic idea and filters ("tags") for style, mood and key.

Hit “Next” to get another progression. The progressions are in random order.

Choose one of tags to filter among the progressions.

How Should I Play These on Piano?

There are many possibilities. You could choose to play the most chords, especially them with 3 or 4 notes, with one of your hands. There are more options as well. For example, left hand playing root–5th or root–5th–octave in the low–mid register (about C2–A2) and right hand playing close voicings that feature the 3rd and 7th; add 9ths or 13ths for color.

Use inversions to decrease the hand movements.

Quick recipes:

• Whole-note chords for a soft ballad.
• Broken arpeggios for a flowing feel.
• Syncopated rhythmic comping for pop groove.
• Jazz I-iv–ii–V in C (Cmaj7 – Am7 – Dm7 – G7): right hand stacks [B E G], [G C E], [C F A], [B F G]; left hand plays roots and fifths.
• 12-bar Blues in C: left hand alternates C, F, G patterns; right hand uses dominant 7ths and blue notes.

What Do the Chord Symbols Mean?

• maj7, m7, 7: chord quality (major 7th, minor 7th, dominant 7th).
• 9/11/13: color tones you can add on top.
• sus2/sus4: replace the 3rd with the 2nd or 4th.
• m7♭5 (half-diminished): minor-7th with a flat fifth.
• Slash chords (C/E, G/D): the note after the slash becomes the new bass note; one approach is to play the note after the slash in the left hand as the bass and the chord before the slash in the right hand.

See Chord symbols for more facts.

What Stands the Tags For?

• ii–V–I: the standard cadence in jazz; great to practice in 12 keys.
• 3–6–2–5 turnaround: a quick chain that leads back to I.
• Added 9/13: chords that have a 9th and 13th extension added to them.
• Authentic cadence: one of the specific cadences, a musical phrase ending with a progression from the dominant chord (V) to the tonic chord (I).
• Borrowed: a borrowed chord refers to a chord taken from a parallel key (a key with the same tonic but a different mode, like C major and C minor).
• Cadential 6/4: tonic in second inversion acting as a dominant decoration (C/G → G7 → C).
• Chromatic: progressions involving non-diatonic tones. It can be root notes, but also semitone voice-leading at key points such as in Em - A7 - Dm since the A7 has C♯, which is chromatic in C major and C♯ to D resolve by semitone.
• Chromatic mediants: chords whose roots are a third apart (major or minor) and share one common tone, but are not both diatonic to the same key. That means they sound somewhat related, but introduce notes from outside the key.
• Color: progressions that use extra chord tones or alterations beyond plain triads/7ths to add harmonic color.
• Cycle of fifths: strings of dominants like … E7 → A7 → D7 → G7 → C.
• Loop: progressions that are meant to repeat seamlessly, such as vamps or short cycles you can play over and over without feeling a “hard” cadence.
• Modal mixture: borrowing from the parallel key (for example, C with Fm).
• Neighboring chord: (sometimes called a neighbor-tone chord) is a decorative chord that steps away from a main harmony and returns - just like the melodic version (neighbor tone), but applied to chords.
• Tritone substitution: swap a V7 with the chord a tritone away (G7 → D♭7) for sleek voice-leading.
• Neapolitan: flat II in first inversion before V (for example, Cm – D♭/F – Cm/G – G7 – Cm).
• Pachelbel (Canon): I–V–vi–iii–IV–I–IV–V (in D: D–A–Bm–F#m–G–D–G–A).
• Plagal: in the context of plagal cadence, one of the specific cadences, ending with a progression from the subdominant chord (IV) to the tonic chord (I).
• Secondary dominant: chords that create a dominant-to-tonic relationship for a chord other than the tonic of the main key.
• Shift: indicating vibe/structure and used when the progression moves its center or repeats a shape at a new starting point—i.e., a noticeable key/center change or sequenced lift.
• Slash: refer to the / sign included in chord names which are played with an alternate bass note.
• Voice leading: melodic movement of individual musical lines (or "voices") when moving between chords.
• V/V: means “the dominant of the dominant”, and it’s a specific secondary dominant that temporarily points to the key’s V chord.

Besides these, there are other tags used including names referring to feeling/vibe, such as “Anthemic” for a big, uplifting and sing-along feeling. Roman numerals refer to degrees and in essence the function of the chord.

Why Are Somes Tones Missing in Some Chords?

Some extended chords are not presented with all notes. For example, dominant 13th chords included seven tones in their theoretical form, but are seldom played in this fashion. It's customary to omit notes when the chords are used in songs. See Voicings for better insights.

Pedal and Touch

• Classical/Baroque sets (Pachelbel, Neapolitan): light pedaling; change on harmony or bass change.
• Jazz sets: change pedal per chord; half-pedal helps keep extensions clear.
• Blues: a bit more pedal is fine; lift on turnarounds.

Practice Ideas

• Play the chord with one of your hands and avoid looking at that hand; this is an important step to reach the next level. If you feel to far away from reaching this, go to the Chord drill tool to get all the common chord under your fingers.
• Try to use both hands to improve coordination of your left and right hands.
• Try arpeggio patterns.
• Twelve-minute loop: pick one family (for example, ii–V–I) and cycle four keys with a metronome (bpm 60 to 90).
• Voice-leading drill: keep the top note steady while inner notes move by step through the progression.
• Bass-line flow: for slash-heavy sets, practice only the left hand first, then add right hand.