Random chords + levels

Pick the chord qualities you want and PianoKitty asks for them in random keys, in a different order every time.

A new chord every time

If you always practice chords in the same order (C, F, G…), your hands end up remembering the order more than the chords. Here the app names a chord, you play it, and the next one is drawn at random from the chord types and roots you picked.

With a MIDI keyboard connected, the app hears what you play and moves on once the notes are right. Without one, the screen works like flash cards: press Space or click the chord to reveal the notes, then again for the next chord. To be graded without an instrument, try the naming quiz.

The practice screen asking for G7, with the notes G, B, D and F shown as balls and marked on the keyboard. — A randomly drawn G7. The balls name the notes and the keyboard shows where they are; you can switch off either hint.

You choose the qualities

In Preferences, tick the chord types you want to practice. Major and minor are a good start. Add the sevenths once triads feel easy, and open the extended groups (ninths, elevenths, thirteenths, altered dominants…) later on. The app only asks for the types you ticked.

The chord types picker with major, minor, maj7, m7 and 7 selected. — Five types ticked: major, minor and the three most common sevenths. The collapsed groups hold dozens more.

You can pick the roots as well. Drilling only the black-key roots gives you focused practice on chords you probably play less often.

Try a drill

Major & minor triads Every key, root position. A good first drill. Try it →The three sevenths maj7, m7 and 7, the seventh chords you meet most in jazz and pop. Try it →Diminished & augmented The two symmetrical triads, in every key. Try it →Black-key roots only Major and minor triads on C♯, E♭, F♯, A♭ and B♭. Try it →

Levels, one step at a time

If you are not sure what to drill next, the Levels page arranges every chord type as a ladder. Each level is one chord type, one inversion and one set of roots. A is root position and B, C and D are the inversions. No mark means white-key roots, + means the black keys and ++ all twelve.

You complete a level at 99% accuracy. The badge in the corner of the practice screen shows which level you are on.

The Levels page: a grid of round level badges, one row per chord type, columns grouped by inversion. — Each row is a chord type and each group of columns an inversion. The right hand, the left hand and both hands have separate ladders.

On a phone

On a phone the practice screen hides the menus, so the chord takes up the full width. You can also connect a MIDI keyboard to an Android phone or tablet with a USB OTG cable, and it works the same as on a computer.

All the features