Sound library

Explanation

Listen to how chords sound on the piano.

Use the player above to hear the notes together and notice the character of the chord. Try repeating the sound a few times and see if you can hum or play along. Listening actively is a great way to train your ear and to recognize chords in songs.

Sound chord characteristics

Descriptions of how different chords sounds:

Major – bright and somewhat happy.
Minor – sad and melancholic.
Diminished – tense, unstable (due to the lowered 5th).
Augmented – bright but unsettled (due to the raised 5th).
7 – tense and somewhat bluesy.
m7 – a bit sad and melancholic, but more ambivalent than the minor triad.
maj7 – bright with some nostalgia, and somewhat jazzy.
m7♭5 – dark and unstable, feels incomplete and often leads to a resolution.
6 – brighter than a major 7th but softer than a plain major triad, and subtly jazzy.
m6 – combines the darkness of a minor chord with a gentle lift from the added 6th, slightly tense.

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