Chord Chart — Quick Reference
Pin this next to your keyboard. Look up any chord in seconds. RH = Right Hand, LH = Left Hand. Finger numbers: 1 = thumb, 5 = pinky.
How to Read This Chart
Section titled “How to Read This Chart”Each chord shows: name, notes, keyboard diagram (highlighted keys in pink/rose), and fingering for both hands.
Major Triads
Section titled “Major Triads”C Major (C)
Section titled “C Major (C)”| Notes | C - E - G |
| RH Fingering | 1 - 3 - 5 |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 1 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C#/Db Major (C#/Db)
Section titled “C#/Db Major (C#/Db)”| Notes | C# - E# - G# (enharmonic: Db - F - Ab) |
| RH Fingering | 2 - 3 - 5 |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 2 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
D Major (D)
Section titled “D Major (D)”| Notes | D - F# - A |
| RH Fingering | 1 - 3 - 5 |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 1 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
Eb Major (Eb)
Section titled “Eb Major (Eb)”| Notes | Eb - G - Bb |
| RH Fingering | 2 - 3 - 5 (or 1 - 3 - 5) |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 2 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
E Major (E)
Section titled “E Major (E)”| Notes | E - G# - B |
| RH Fingering | 1 - 3 - 5 |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 1 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
F Major (F)
Section titled “F Major (F)”| Notes | F - A - C |
| RH Fingering | 1 - 3 - 5 |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 1 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C
F#/Gb Major (F#/Gb)
Section titled “F#/Gb Major (F#/Gb)”| Notes | F# - A# - C# (enharmonic: Gb - Bb - Db) |
| RH Fingering | 2 - 3 - 5 |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 2 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
G Major (G)
Section titled “G Major (G)”| Notes | G - B - D |
| RH Fingering | 1 - 3 - 5 |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 1 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C
D
Ab Major (Ab)
Section titled “Ab Major (Ab)”| Notes | Ab - C - Eb |
| RH Fingering | 2 - 3 - 5 (or 1 - 3 - 5) |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 2 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
A Major (A)
Section titled “A Major (A)”| Notes | A - C# - E |
| RH Fingering | 1 - 3 - 5 |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 1 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
Bb Major (Bb)
Section titled “Bb Major (Bb)”| Notes | Bb - D - F |
| RH Fingering | 2 - 3 - 5 (or 1 - 3 - 5) |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 2 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
B Major (B)
Section titled “B Major (B)”| Notes | B - D# - F# |
| RH Fingering | 1 - 3 - 5 |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 1 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
Minor Triads
Section titled “Minor Triads”C Minor (Cm)
Section titled “C Minor (Cm)”| Notes | C - Eb - G |
| RH Fingering | 1 - 3 - 5 |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 1 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C# Minor (C#m)
Section titled “C# Minor (C#m)”| Notes | C# - E - G# |
| RH Fingering | 1 - 3 - 5 |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 1 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
D Minor (Dm)
Section titled “D Minor (Dm)”| Notes | D - F - A |
| RH Fingering | 1 - 3 - 5 |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 1 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
Eb Minor (Ebm)
Section titled “Eb Minor (Ebm)”| Notes | Eb - Gb - Bb |
| RH Fingering | 2 - 4 - 5 (or 1 - 3 - 5) |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 1 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
E Minor (Em)
Section titled “E Minor (Em)”| Notes | E - G - B |
| RH Fingering | 1 - 3 - 5 |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 1 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
F Minor (Fm)
Section titled “F Minor (Fm)”| Notes | F - Ab - C |
| RH Fingering | 1 - 3 - 5 |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 1 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C
F# Minor (F#m)
Section titled “F# Minor (F#m)”| Notes | F# - A - C# |
| RH Fingering | 1 - 3 - 5 (or 2 - 3 - 5) |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 1 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
G Minor (Gm)
Section titled “G Minor (Gm)”| Notes | G - Bb - D |
| RH Fingering | 1 - 3 - 5 |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 1 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
C
D
Ab Minor (Abm)
Section titled “Ab Minor (Abm)”| Notes | Ab - Cb - Eb (enharmonic: G# - B - D#) |
| RH Fingering | 1 - 3 - 5 |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 1 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
A Minor (Am)
Section titled “A Minor (Am)”| Notes | A - C - E |
| RH Fingering | 1 - 3 - 5 |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 1 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
Bb Minor (Bbm)
Section titled “Bb Minor (Bbm)”| Notes | Bb - Db - F |
| RH Fingering | 1 - 3 - 5 |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 1 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
B Minor (Bm)
Section titled “B Minor (Bm)”| Notes | B - D - F# |
| RH Fingering | 1 - 3 - 5 |
| LH Fingering | 5 - 3 - 1 |
C
D
E
F
G
A
B
Chord Inversions
Section titled “Chord Inversions”Inversions for the 6 chords taught in this course. Use inversions for smoother chord changes.
C Major Inversions
Section titled “C Major Inversions”| Inversion | Notes | RH | LH |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root Position | C - E - G | 1 - 3 - 5 | 5 - 3 - 1 |
| 1st Inversion | E - G - C | 1 - 2 - 5 | 5 - 3 - 1 |
| 2nd Inversion | G - C - E | 1 - 3 - 5 | 5 - 2 - 1 |
F Major Inversions
Section titled “F Major Inversions”| Inversion | Notes | RH | LH |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root Position | F - A - C | 1 - 3 - 5 | 5 - 3 - 1 |
| 1st Inversion | A - C - F | 1 - 2 - 5 | 5 - 3 - 1 |
| 2nd Inversion | C - F - A | 1 - 3 - 5 | 5 - 2 - 1 |
G Major Inversions
Section titled “G Major Inversions”| Inversion | Notes | RH | LH |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root Position | G - B - D | 1 - 3 - 5 | 5 - 3 - 1 |
| 1st Inversion | B - D - G | 1 - 2 - 5 | 5 - 3 - 1 |
| 2nd Inversion | D - G - B | 1 - 3 - 5 | 5 - 2 - 1 |
A Minor Inversions
Section titled “A Minor Inversions”| Inversion | Notes | RH | LH |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root Position | A - C - E | 1 - 3 - 5 | 5 - 3 - 1 |
| 1st Inversion | C - E - A | 1 - 2 - 5 | 5 - 3 - 1 |
| 2nd Inversion | E - A - C | 1 - 3 - 5 | 5 - 2 - 1 |
D Minor Inversions
Section titled “D Minor Inversions”| Inversion | Notes | RH | LH |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root Position | D - F - A | 1 - 3 - 5 | 5 - 3 - 1 |
| 1st Inversion | F - A - D | 1 - 2 - 5 | 5 - 3 - 1 |
| 2nd Inversion | A - D - F | 1 - 3 - 5 | 5 - 2 - 1 |
E Minor Inversions
Section titled “E Minor Inversions”| Inversion | Notes | RH | LH |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root Position | E - G - B | 1 - 3 - 5 | 5 - 3 - 1 |
| 1st Inversion | G - B - E | 1 - 2 - 5 | 5 - 3 - 1 |
| 2nd Inversion | B - E - G | 1 - 3 - 5 | 5 - 2 - 1 |
Common Chord Progressions
Section titled “Common Chord Progressions”Key of C Major
Section titled “Key of C Major”| Progression Name | Roman Numerals | Chords |
|---|---|---|
| Classic (Cadential) | I - IV - V - I | C - F - G - C |
| Pop Progression | I - V - vi - IV | C - G - Am - F |
| 50s Progression | I - vi - IV - V | C - Am - F - G |
| 12-Bar Blues | I-I-I-I / IV-IV-I-I / V-IV-I-V | C-C-C-C / F-F-C-C / G-F-C-G |
Key of G Major
Section titled “Key of G Major”| Progression Name | Roman Numerals | Chords |
|---|---|---|
| Classic (Cadential) | I - IV - V - I | G - C - D - G |
| Pop Progression | I - V - vi - IV | G - D - Em - C |
| 50s Progression | I - vi - IV - V | G - Em - C - D |
| 12-Bar Blues | I-I-I-I / IV-IV-I-I / V-IV-I-V | G-G-G-G / C-C-G-G / D-C-G-D |
Key of F Major
Section titled “Key of F Major”| Progression Name | Roman Numerals | Chords |
|---|---|---|
| Classic (Cadential) | I - IV - V - I | F - Bb - C - F |
| Pop Progression | I - V - vi - IV | F - C - Dm - Bb |
| 50s Progression | I - vi - IV - V | F - Dm - Bb - C |
| 12-Bar Blues | I-I-I-I / IV-IV-I-I / V-IV-I-V | F-F-F-F / Bb-Bb-F-F / C-Bb-F-C |
Roman Numeral Quick Reference
Section titled “Roman Numeral Quick Reference”In any major key, the basic triads are:
| Numeral | Chord Type | In C | In G | In F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Major | C | G | F |
| ii | Minor | Dm | Am | Gm |
| iii | Minor | Em | Bm | Am |
| IV | Major | F | C | Bb |
| V | Major | G | D | C |
| vi | Minor | Am | Em | Dm |
| vii° | Diminished | Bdim | F#dim | Edim |
Reference Librarian — Piano School 20-Hour Beginner Course