By far the most common chords (3 or more notes simultaneously) in Western music are Major and Minor chords (and a 3 note chord is called a 'triad'). This game is designed to test and improve your ability to identify both depending on their characteristic sounds. Because both Major and Minor triads are always created using pre-determined formulas of specific intervals between each of their three notes, the relative distances between each of their three notes is always the same no matter what note they begin on. Because of this shared formula all Major chords share a distinctive sound - or 'tonality' - as do all Minor chords. In this game you'll hear a chord and must determine its quality based on that sound.

Many people find they associate the different sounds / tonalities of Major and Minor chords with different emotions, or feelings, and this can be a great way to quickly identify both - for example many people feel Minor chords sound 'sadder'. This is subjective, but you can make your own personal associations.

Use the Minor or Major buttons (or arrow keys) to answer. You can press Replay Chord or 'R' to listen again. Use Next or Spacebar to proceed. You can use the reference buttons below the main answers to orient your ear at any time.

You can also download a score card .png to save your progress!

In modern Western music, Major and Minor triads (triad just means a three note chord) are the two most common types of chords (chord meaning 3 or more notes at the same time) and they make up the vast majority of all the chords you'll hear in Western genres like pop, rock, indie, etc.
Typically music will have a melody line (what you might think of as the 'tune' - it's often the line that's sung, or what you might hum), and this will be accompanied by chords, which form the 'harmony'. The structure of these chords, for example whether they are major or minor, helps dictate the emotional feeling of the music.
Major and Minor triads are made using their own specific formulas. Both start on a root note (below, this is 'X'), and have specific distances between each of the following notes ('Y' and 'Z').
Major Triads = X (+4 semitones) Y (+3 semitones) Z
Minor Triads = X (+3 semitones) Y (+4 semitones) Z
Most importantly many people develop emotional connections with specific chord types - many people feel minor chords sound 'sad', whilst major chords sound 'grander', or 'happier'. We can listen for these sounds to determine the quality of the chord.