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New Released in April 2026
What to Learn After Basic Piano Chords
You know your major and minor chords. So what to learn after basic piano chords? Not more random shapes: the next steps make the chords you already know faster, smoother and usable in real music.
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 steps, in this order
- Inversions: play C, F and G without jumping, using the nearest shape of each.
- Both hands: bass note in the left hand, chord in the right.
- All 12 keys: the same chord types on black-key roots (Db, Eb, F#, Ab, Bb).
- 7th chords: maj7, 7 and m7, the colour of most pop, soul and jazz.
- Sus chords: sus2 and sus4, for open and modern sounds.
- Progressions: I-V-vi-IV and ii-V-I in several keys.
Why this order works
Each step reuses the one before. Inversions make the hands move less, so playing in both hands gets easier. Once both hands work, new keys and new chord types are only new shapes on top of the same habit.
What to Learn After Basic Piano Chords
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 demoHow to tell you are ready for the next step
- You find a chord from its name in under two seconds.
- You can keep a steady beat while changing.
- You can play the step in three different keys.
A game that follows the same path
ChordRunner levels grow in the same direction: major and minor, then augmented and diminished, then sus chords, then 6ths, 7ths and 9ths, up to 13ths. Every inversion counts as correct, so you can practise smooth hand movement from the first level, on a MIDI keyboard or a piano near the microphone.
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 should I learn after basic piano chords?
Inversions first, then chords in both hands, then the same chords in all 12 keys, then 7th chords, sus chords and common progressions.
Should I learn 7th chords or inversions first?
Inversions. They make every chord easier to reach, including the 7th chords you learn next.
How many piano chords should a beginner know?
The 24 major and minor triads cover a lot of music. With inversions and a few 7th chords you can play most pop songs.
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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