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New Released in April 2026
A Music Learning Game You Play on a Real Instrument
A music learning game should leave you better at your instrument, not only at the game. ChordRunner is built around that idea: everything you do in it, you do on a real piano, keyboard or guitar, and every skill it trains is one you use when you play music for real.
No account, no download. The demo has limited content. Advanced features are in ChordRunner Premium.
- MIDI keyboard
- Digital or acoustic piano
- Guitar
- Computer, phone or tablet
Six skills in one game
- Notes: one at a time, in any octave, until the keyboard is a map you know.
- Chords: from major and minor triads to 13ths, in all 12 keys.
- Reading: real notation on a staff, played in real time.
- Ear: hear a note, a short line or a chord, then play it back.
- Speed: a run that gets faster every minute and changes key every 5 chords.
- Progressions: type your own chord progression and it loops until it is yours.
Why a game works for music
Music skills are built by repetition, and repetition is boring unless something is at stake. In a game every right chord moves you forward and every wrong one costs a life, so you repeat the same shapes hundreds of times without noticing.
A Music Learning Game You Play on a Real Instrument
ChordRunner is a browser game that teaches piano and guitar chords: a chord appears on screen, you play it on a real instrument, and your runner jumps.
Play the demoWhere to begin
Beginners start with single notes and the first chord level. Players who already know some chords can jump to the level that matches them, or use the adaptive mode, which adds the next chord family when your hit rate goes up.
Alone or with others
Play alone, or open a room, share the 4-digit code and race friends on the same chords at the same moment, with a live leaderboard.
The levels in ChordRunner
- Beginner: major, minor, augmented and diminished chords.
- Intermediate: adds sus2 and sus4.
- Advanced: adds 6th, 7th and 9th chords.
- Pro: adds 11th, 13th and altered chords; an adaptive mode adds the next family when you are ready.
Common questions
What is a music learning game?
A game that trains real music skills, such as notes, chords, reading and ear, on an instrument. ChordRunner checks every note you play on a MIDI keyboard or through the microphone.
Is it for kids or adults?
Both. Adults like the chord and reading depth; kids who can read chord names like C or Am enjoy the run.
How long should I play each day?
Ten to fifteen minutes. Mix one skill you are good at with one you avoid, and let the score show the change.
Which instruments work?
A USB MIDI keyboard, detected automatically, or a piano or guitar through the microphone. Everything runs in Chrome or Edge on a computer, tablet or phone.
How is this different from apps where you tap the screen?
Tapping trains your eyes and fingers on glass. Here you press real keys or fret real strings, and the game hears the actual notes, so what you practise is exactly what you will play on your instrument.
Is everything in the demo?
The demo has limited content. Advanced features are in ChordRunner Premium.
Your instrument is the controller.
ChordRunner is a browser game that teaches piano and guitar chords: a chord appears on screen, you play it on a real instrument, and your runner jumps. MIDI keyboard or microphone, both work.
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