Chord Ear Training

A chord is a set of notes that are sounded simultaneously. In Western music, the most frequently encountered chords are called triads, as they feature three notes – the root note, and the intervals of a third and a fifth above the root. Of course chords can get much more complicated than this, and in jazz or contemporary classical music is very common to encounter chords with more than three notes.

Chord listening test / Streak: 0

Identify the played chord:

Chord play test / Streak: 0

Play the chord:

Input devices

Chord reading test / Streak: 0

Identify the presented chord:

Ear Training Exercises

All ear-training exercises

Related Games

Chordelius

Chord Ear Training Made Easy

Chords are the colours that give music its flavour. When your ears can recognize a major triad, a minor 7, or even a crunchy altered chord on the spot, you can strum along without charts, build richer arrangements, and follow any jam with confidence.

Meet the 3 Core Chord Exercises:

Chord Listening Test

Press Play, hear a chord, name what you heard. Start with the four basic triads, major, minor, diminished, augmented - then unlock sevenths and extended voicings as your accuracy climbs. Within a few sessions you’ll feel each quality before you even think about note names.

Chord Play Test

The screen shows a chord symbol; you build it and play it on the virtual keyboard or your MIDI controller.

Chord Reading Test

Two or more notes appear on a staff; identify the chord. Linking notation to sound keeps sight-reading from feeling like code and lets you “hear” sheet music in your head before you play.

Personalize your Chord Ear Training Exercises

Tap Personalize and tailor the ear training exercises to your level:

Select as few as three chord types - or open the full menu up to spicy 13ths.
Choose Ascending, Descending, Harmonic, or a Mix to keep your ears guessing.
Limit the octave range, adjust speed, and set volume so nothing feels rushed or too soft.

A minute of tweaking keeps every session in the “stretch but don’t stress” zone.

Dig Deeper with the Chord Player Tool

Once you have finished a round of drills, open the Chord Player tool. Type or click any chord symbol and the player will:

Sound the chord in perfect tuning so your ear can check its colour.
Show every inversion at a glance; cycle through root, first, second, or third position and notice how the flavour changes even though the notes are the same.
Isolate individual notes by clicking them, letting you hear how each tone fits the bigger picture.

Spend a minute breaking down the chords you just trained, then head back to the exercises. That back-and-forth between ear training and active listening locks every new quality into long-term memory.

Warm Up, Then Test Yourself in the Games

Five focused minutes in the drills is the perfect stretch before you chase high scores:

Chordelius – name full chords at speed.
Inversionist – spot the bass note and call the inversion.
Route VI – hear a short progression and tag its harmonic path.

Each game starts gently, then ramps up difficulty as your score rises—a clear marker of progress day by day.

Start Hearing Harmony Today

Join ToneGym today and unlock the full ear-training program that sharpens your listening, speeds up your playing, and lifts your musicianship to the next level.