What Am I Playing?Beta
Play it and see it named — live. Plug in a MIDI keyboard (every channel works), click keys on the piano below, or type on your computer keyboard. One note gets named; two make an interval; three or more become a chord with its inversion and every other valid reading, weighted so the most musical answer comes first. Run five or more notes and the scale or mode appears too, from pentatonics to harmonic minor to Dorian. Everything stays on this page — nothing you play is recorded or sent anywhere.
One note names the note. Two name the interval. Three or more name the chord — run five or more and the scale or mode appears too.
Click keys to pin them · computer keys A–; play from C4 (Z/X shifts the octave) · Esc clears pinned notes
How it decides what to call things
Most note sets have more than one valid name, so the answers are weighted rather than guessed. The bass note carries the most weight: C–E–G–A over a C reads as C Major 6 first, while the same four keys over an A read as A Minor 7th — and the other reading always stays visible as an alternate. Common qualities outrank exotic ones, and a full run of notes is read as a scale while the same notes held together are read as the chord they stack into.
Spellings are weighted by real-world usage too. A minor chord on the black key between C and D is written C♯ Minor (four sharps) rather than D♭ Minor (eight flats), while the major chord on the same key is D♭ Major. Set a key in the controls and every note respells to match — in E Major you will see G♯, never A♭ — and chords get their Roman numeral in that key. Prefer one direction? Lock the spelling to ♯ or ♭.
Every name links into the reference: the chord page with fingerings and inversions, the scale page with its key signature, the mode page, or the interval lesson. This tool is the fast answer; those pages are the why.
Built for lessons and screen shares
The same harmony shows four ways at once — lit keys, grand-staff notation, the chord symbol, and the theory link — so a student can start from whichever one they already read. Turn on Big display for projectors and video calls, use the sustain pedal naturally (pedal-held notes stay in the reading), and the session list at the bottom keeps every chord you named so you can copy it as a lesson recap. The reading lingers after you lift your hands, so nothing disappears mid-explanation.
Questions
Do I need a MIDI keyboard?
No. Clicking keys on the on-screen piano and typing on your computer keyboard (A through ; from middle C, Z and X to shift octaves) work everywhere. A MIDI keyboard makes it feel instant — plug one in and it connects automatically in Chrome or Edge.
Why does it show a different name than I expected?
Many shapes have several correct names. The tool leads with the reading anchored by your bass note and lists the rest under "Also reads as" — if you meant the other one, it is one click away, with a short note on why the top answer ranked first.
Does it detect inversions?
Yes. Play E–G–C and it reads C Major, 1st inversion — E in the bass, and the chord page link opens directly on that inversion.
How do scales and modes get detected?
The tool watches your last few seconds of playing. Run at least five different notes and the tightest-fitting scale or mode appears — a run of white keys from D names D Dorian, with C Major offered as the alternate reading.
Is anything I play recorded?
No. MIDI and every note you play are processed entirely in your browser and never leave it. The session list is temporary and clears when you close the page.
Why does my MIDI keyboard not connect?
Web MIDI works in Chrome, Edge, and other Chromium browsers — Safari does not support it yet. If you are in a supported browser, check that the keyboard is connected before the page loads, or use the retry button on the MIDI badge.