Learn › Piano Chord Game: Learn Chords by Playing

New Released in April 2026

Piano Chord Game: Learn Chords by Playing

A piano chord game turns chord practice into play: a chord name appears, you play it on your piano or MIDI keyboard, and the game tells you instantly if you got it. ChordRunner is a piano chord game in your browser, from easy major and minor chords for beginners up to the 13th and altered chords pros use.

Play the demo

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

How the piano chord game works

No tapping on a screen keyboard and no multiple choice: you answer on real keys.

1. A chord appears

A chord symbol such as Cmaj7 rides towards your runner. You read it and find the notes (C E G B).

2. You play it on the piano

Any position counts: root position, an inversion or a spread voicing. If the right notes sound, the chord is right.

3. Your runner jumps

Right chord in time, the run goes on. The next chord is already coming, so recall gets faster with every run.

Piano chord game levels: beginner to pro

Start with the chords every song uses and add a family only when the last one is automatic.

Level	Chords you play	Examples in C
Beginner	Major, minor, augmented, diminished triads	C · Cm · Caug · Cdim
Intermediate	+ suspended chords	Csus2 · Csus4
Advanced	+ 6th, 7th and 9th chords	C6 · Cmaj7 · Cm7 · C7 · Cm7b5 · C9
Pro	+ 11th, 13th and altered chords	C11 · C13 · C7b9 · C7#9

Every level mixes all 12 keys. An adaptive mode starts you on triads and brings in the next chord family by itself as your hit rate goes up, so the game always plays at your level.

Why a game teaches piano chords faster than a chart

A piano chord chart tells you where the notes are. Knowing a chord means your hand goes there before you think, and that only comes from playing it many times, in a mixed order, with a clock running. A piano chord game gives you exactly that:

Instant feedback: you know on the spot whether the chord was right, so mistakes never turn into habits.
Mixed order: chords come in an order you cannot predict, which is how you meet them in real music.
Gentle time pressure: the next chord is coming, so recall gets quicker without long drills.
Short sessions: one run takes a few minutes, easy to fit in every day.

ChordRunner on a tablet next to an acoustic guitar, with hands playing a chord on a piano below

Play it on your own piano

ChordRunner runs in the browser on a computer, tablet or phone. Nothing to install.

MIDI keyboard

Plug in a USB MIDI keyboard or digital piano: it is detected automatically and every note counts at once.

Acoustic piano and microphone

No cable? The microphone listens to your acoustic or digital piano and recognises the chord you play.

Guitar too

The same chords can be played on a guitar into the microphone.

Play the demo

More ways to play

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

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 and no penalties.
Boss battles, speed runs and live multiplayer against other players.

Common questions

What is a piano chord game?

A game where a chord name appears and you play it on a piano or keyboard to score. In ChordRunner the chord rides towards your runner and you play it on a MIDI keyboard or an acoustic piano into the microphone; the game hears whether the notes are right.

Is a piano chord game good for beginners?

Yes. Start with major and minor triads, then add augmented and diminished. Each new chord family comes in only when the last one is automatic, and an adaptive mode adjusts the mix to your hit rate.

Do I need a MIDI keyboard to play?

No. A USB MIDI keyboard gives the fastest response and is detected automatically, but the microphone also recognises chords played on an acoustic or digital piano, or on a guitar.

Does any inversion count?

Yes. Root position, inversions and spread voicings all count, as long as the right notes sound. That makes the game useful from the first triads to jazz voicings.

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