Chord Builder
Understand the notes behind the shape
Build a chord.
Hear what changes.
One root, one third, one fifth. Discover how three notes become a major or minor chord.
01 · Explore
A small change. A different sound.
Standard tuning · high E on top · tap a note to hear it
02 · Build it yourself
Find the missing ingredients
Choose a note to begin.
The idea behind it
Count from the root.
A semitone is one fret on the same string. Two frets make a whole step. An interval is the distance between two notes.
- Root · 0 semitonesThe note that names your chord.
- Third · 3 or 4 semitonesA minor third is 3; a major third is 4. This is the note you change to switch the chord’s quality.
- Perfect fifth · 7 semitonesThe fifth stays the same in both chords.
These distances are measured upward from the root. Guitar shapes can repeat notes in different octaves: six strings can still contain only three different note names.