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New Released in April 2026

The Piano Chord App You Play on Your Real Keyboard

ChordRunner is a piano chord app that runs in your browser on a computer, tablet or phone. A chord appears, you play it on your piano or MIDI keyboard, and you know instantly if it was right. It covers every chord from major triads to 13ths, in all 12 keys, and speeds up as your hands get faster.

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
ChordRunner running on a phone next to an acoustic guitar, above a piano being played

What to look for in a piano chord app

A chord app is only as good as what it makes you do. Reading chord diagrams is not the same as playing them on demand. These are the things that turn a chord you know into a chord your hands find without thinking.

What mattersIn ChordRunner
It hears your real instrument USB MIDI keyboard detected automatically, or your acoustic piano or guitar through the microphone
Every chord type, every key 24 chord types from triads to 13ths, in all 12 keys, plus slash chords and rootless voicings
Any voicing counts Root position, inversions, open voicings, doubled notes: if the right notes are there, the chord counts
Time pressure that adapts Faster when you are on a streak, easier when you start missing
Help when you are stuck Let the game wait on each chord and one tap shows its notes on a keyboard
Nothing to install Runs in Chrome or Edge on computer, tablet or phone
ChordRunner on a tablet showing a Bbmaj7 chord block, next to an acoustic guitar, above a piano being played

Every chord, in every key

The app's chord library, the same one the game asks you to play:

  • Major
  • Minor
  • Diminished
  • Augmented
  • Suspended 2nd
  • Suspended 4th
  • Major 6th
  • Minor 6th
  • Add 9
  • Dominant 7th
  • Major 7th
  • Minor 7th
  • Half-diminished (m7b5)
  • Diminished 7th
  • Minor-major 7th
  • 7sus4
  • Dominant 9th
  • Major 9th
  • Minor 9th
  • Dominant 11th
  • Dominant 13th
  • Major 13th
  • 7b9
  • 7#9

Need the notes first? The piano chord chart lists all of them in all 12 keys, and the piano chord finder shows inversions and jazz voicings on a keyboard.

How chord practice works in the app

  1. A chord appears

    The chord symbol sits on a block in front of your runner: Gm, Bbmaj7, F#7, whatever you are training.

  2. You play it

    On your MIDI keyboard or into the microphone, in any inversion. The app checks every note instantly.

  3. Your runner jumps

    Right chord, you clear the block. Miss it and you hit the wall, and that chord becomes tomorrow's practice.

ChordRunner gameplay: the runner on a seaside path facing a block labelled G minor
The block says Gm. Play G minor before it reaches you.

Many ways to practise chords

The demo has limited content. These advanced features are in ChordRunner Premium.

  • Chord levels that add one chord type at a time, from triads to an all-types mix
  • Your own chord set: pick the chord types you want and only those appear
  • Chords in a key: every chord stays inside the key and scale you choose
  • Your chord progression on loop, until the changes are automatic
  • A practice keyboard with inversions and jazz voicings, no lives, no penalties
  • Boss battles, speed runs and live multiplayer against other players
ChordRunner on a laptop, a tablet and a phone, each showing a Cm7 chord block, above a piano being played

A 10-minute chord practice routine

  1. Warm up: a few runs with chords you already know, to get your hands moving.
  2. Work the misses: the chords that stopped your runner go into your own chord set; drill only those until they stop being special.
  3. Mix it up: finish with a run that mixes everything, because songs never give you chords in a tidy order.

Ten focused minutes a day beat an hour once a week: chord recall is a memory skill, and memory settles between sessions. ChordRunner is a browser game you control with a real instrument, built for exactly this kind of short, daily repetition.

Common questions

What is the best app to learn piano chords?

One that listens to your real instrument, covers every chord type in all 12 keys and makes you play them under gentle time pressure with instant feedback. ChordRunner does this in the browser, with a MIDI keyboard or a microphone, from triads to 13th chords.

Does the app work without a MIDI keyboard?

Yes. The microphone listens to an acoustic or digital piano, or a guitar, and recognises the chord you play. A USB MIDI keyboard gives the fastest response and is detected automatically. There is also an on-screen keyboard.

Can it teach jazz chords?

Yes. The chord library goes up to 9ths, 11ths and 13ths, altered dominants and rootless voicings, and any voicing of the right notes counts, so you can practise the shapes jazz pianists actually use.

Do I need to download it?

No. ChordRunner runs in Chrome or Edge on a computer, tablet or phone. There is nothing to install and no app store.

Can I try it before paying?

Yes. The demo runs in the browser with no account. It has limited content; advanced features are in ChordRunner Premium, as a monthly plan or a one-time payment for lifetime access.

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.

Try the demo