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⭐ Understanding Fingertips Colour Coding & Chord Families

(Book Companion Version)

Fingertips uses colour to help you recognise relationships between chords — not to label difficulty, and not to test theory knowledge.

If you understand this page, the rest of Fingertips will make much more sense.

Why Fingertips Uses Colour

On a keyboard, many chords are closely related — they feel similar under the fingers and sound like they belong together.

Instead of treating every chord as a completely separate thing, Fingertips groups related chords into families, and each family shares a colour.

This helps you to:

  • recognise similar sounds quickly

  • spot useful substitutions

  • feel less overwhelmed by the number of chords

Colour is used as a guide, not a rule.

What We Mean by a “Chord Family”

A chord family is a group of chords that share a common sound and character.

They are grouped together because:

  • they often work in similar musical situations

  • they feel related when you hear them

  • moving between them feels natural on the keyboard

Chords in the same family are not the same chord, but they belong together musically.

The Major Family (A Core Example)

The Major family is the easiest place to hear how chord families work.

Below are three closely related chords:

  • Major

  • Major 6

  • Major 7

Listen to each one and notice how:

  • the overall brightness remains

  • the character gently changes

  • each chord still feels related to the others

These chords belong to the same family because they grow from the same sound, rather than replacing it.

 

C Major

C Major 6

C Major 7

C-C6-Cmaj7

Why Some Chords Share a Colour but Look Different

You may notice that chords in the same family sometimes use lighter or darker shades of the same colour.

This does not mean:

  • harder vs easier

  • beginner vs advanced

  • better vs worse

Instead, shading shows distance from the core sound.

  • Darker shades are closer to the basic chord

  • Lighter shades add more tension, colour, or richness

  • The family sound remains the same

Think of it like different flavours of the same food — familiar, but not identical.

The Other Chord Families You’ll See in Fingertips

Fingertips uses several chord families, each with its own colour and musical role.

* Please note that these are the families from our full website, which covers 33 chord types, through 450 full Chord Pages.

Major (Yellow)

Clear, stable, and open-sounding.
Often forms the foundation of songs.

Minor (Blue)

More reflective or emotional in character.
Closely related to major, but with a different mood.

Dominant (Orange)

Chords that create movement and pull.
They often want to go somewhere else next.

Colour Chords (Green)

These add tension, drama, or surprise.
They are not “odd” chords — they are expressive ones.

Suspended (Purple)

Open, unresolved sounds that sit between stability and movement.
Extremely useful and very friendly once understood.

Extended (Red)

Richer, fuller chords that add extra colour.
They can be a little more demanding, but red is not to be feared — it simply means more expressive sound.

What This System Helps You Do When Playing

Understanding colour and families helps you to:

  • recognise chords faster

  • experiment without guessing blindly

  • feel confident trying related chords

  • understand why something works by sound, not theory

You don’t need to memorise rules.
You just need to notice relationships.

That’s what Fingertips is designed to help you do.

⭐ Tip

If you ever wonder “Why is this chord that colour?” — this is the page to come back to.

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