Welcome to a truly innovative tool that will greatly accelerate your learning of any piece. After months of development, I'm excited to announce a new kind of app that will enable you to learn the language of music at a speed that had never before been possible.

It's built directly into the Key-Notes lesson library, and it's available at no extra cost to subscribers. There's nothing to install, and the app "just works" when you need it.

Chordio™ was designed for the countless passionate pianists who have avoided learning chords because it's “too hard” or takes too long. Its smart system will have you playing chords in hours, not years.

The app solves one of the biggest problems in learning the piano. Most piano students mainly learn keystrokes, at the expense of the underlying harmonies. Even after many years of lessons, most players are unable to play basic chords without stopping to think for an inordinately long time and often with lots of trial and error. They assume it’s “too hard” to learn music theory, thinking they can somehow get by without it.

Yet harmony is the very language of music, and with an effective system, it's actually quite easy to learn. For the first time there is now a system that will allow you to achieve the same level of musical fluency in chords that professional players enjoy. Chordio™ addresses these challenges by systematically drilling each chord that makes up any piece you learn.

The result? You’ll quickly come to know the music from the inside out—not just in theory but hands-on at the keyboard. You’ll learn the language of music. This will enable you to learn music much faster, to retain it much longer, and to play it more confidently and expressively.

How it works

You’ll need a MIDI keyboard. This is a hands-on drill, so it’s essential to practice playing the chords on an actual piano keyboard. Make sure your MIDI keyboard is connected to your computer and turned on.

Then, in the Chrome, Opera, or Edge browser on supported operating systems (macOS, Windows, Android, Linux), navigate to the “Drill” section of any repertoire piece in the Key-Notes lesson library.

You’ll see an uncomplicated, retro-style interface with an on-screen piano keyboard and a message prompting you to get started.

You can test the functionality of your MIDI keyboard by pressing any keys. The on-screen keyboard lights up in realtime. (If it doesn’t, make sure your keyboard is connected to your computer and turned on, then reload the page.)

Getting started

Start by clicking “New Chord.” The app will prompt you to play a chord. Simply play the chord!

The system is smart enough to let you play chords anywhere on the keyboard. Feel free to play in open or close position. You can play extra chord notes—add an extra root or two if you like the sound.

If you played the correct chord, the app will move on to another chord in the piece you’re learning.

If the chord was incorrect, the software will show you the correct chord on the on-screen keyboard and pause the timer to give you an opportunity to learn the chord.

Video lessons

There's even a "Play Lesson" link: Click it and you'll get a quick pop-over video lesson on that specific chord. The lessons will even walk you through the inversions. There are hundreds of videos—one for every chord in every piece in the extensive Key-Notes library—available at the click of a button anytime you need them.

Levels

The app defaults to level 1. This level only asks you to play chords in root position, meaning that the main note of the chord (the root) is the lowest note.

There’s a special “level 0” that shows you each chord on the keyboard. You can practice at level 0 until you're familiar enough with each chord to test your knowledge. Level 0 also doesn't deduct points for time, so you can take all the time you need to get to know the chords in root position.

If you get stuck, you can always press the "Show Chord" button. This will display the notes to press on the keyboard. Revealing the answer will also deduct some points from your progress, but it can get you out of a pinch.

If you can pass level 10, you'll be a real chords virtuoso! You'll know all the chords in your piece truly as well as a professional pianist.

At all levels, if you play the wrong chord, the progress bar will be reset! This may seem strict, but the purpose of this exercise is to drill the chords in each piece you learn. The more you practice, the better you'll know the chords.

Chord Finder

There is also a special chord finder, which you can enable using the "Chords" toggle. This is a truly powerful tool. Switch it on and play your keyboard. Any chord recognized is immediately displayed along with the exact notes that make up that chord, thanks to the sophisticated music theory engine that powers the app.

The chords are "spelled" correctly, which is of critical importance in music theory. Double flats and double sharps are displayed if necessary.

The Chord Finder also recognizes any inversions of chords.

Finally, it displays any alternatives. For example, F–A–C–E-flat on the keyboard is an F7 chord, but F–A–C–D-sharp is an F German 6th. Both chords are played by the same keys on the piano, but they are different notes that form different chords with different meanings that resolve in different ways. Like the famous “Which witch is which?” enharmonic notes are musical homonyms that sound the same but mean very different things in the language of music. The Chord Finder allows you to learn many enharmonic chords.

Like cardio... for chords!

All you need is a few minutes’ workout regularly. You’ll soon know all your chords like a pro. It's like cardio... for chords!™—soon you'll be able to play any chord... in a heartbeat!™