Guitar chords
A guitar chord chart shows where your fingers go. Each diagram stands the neck up: the six strings run down, the 6th (lowest) on the left, and the frets run across. A numbered dot is a finger, ○ is a string played open and × one not played. Pick any chord to see every common way to play it, and strum each one to hear it.
C
C major · C E G · 1 3 5
Open position
Open chord
x32010
3rd fret
Barre chord, root on the 5th string
x35553
8th fret
Barre chord, root on the 6th string
8-10-10-9-8-8
Dots show where each finger goes, numbered 1 (index) to 4 (little); the green ones are C, the root.
How to play C major on guitarBasic guitar chords for beginners
The open chords most players learn first. None needs a barre, and C, G, D, A, E and their minors play thousands of songs. F is shown on the top four strings, the easy way to start it. Tap a chord for every way to play it.
How to read a guitar chord chart
Strings and frets
The lines going down are the six strings, the thickest (the low E, called the 6th) on the left and the thinnest (the high E, the 1st) on the right. The lines across are the frets, and the thick bar at the top is the nut, where the neck starts.
Dots and finger numbers
A dot is where a finger presses, just behind the fret wire. Its number is the finger: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring and 4 little. The thumb stays behind the neck.
Open and muted strings
A ○ above a string means play it open, with no finger on it. An × means don’t play it: start the strum below it, or let a finger touch it lightly so it doesn’t ring.
Barres and fret numbers
A bar across several strings is a barre: one finger, laid flat, presses them all at that fret. When the chart shows a number such as 5fr beside it, its top row is the 5th fret, not the nut.
Chords are also written as tab, one character per string from the 6th to the 1st: a number for the fret, 0 for open and x for not played. x32010 is C, and 320003 is G.
Barre chords: one shape, every root
A barre chord has no open strings, so the same shape moves up and down the neck: move it a fret and it is a chord a half step higher. Two shapes play every major chord, one with its root on the 6th string and one with it on the 5th.
Put the shape’s root on the fret of the note you want. G is on the 6th string’s 3rd fret, so the 6th-string shape there is G (355433); C is on the 5th string’s 3rd fret, so the 5th-string shape there is C (x35553). The minor, seventh and other shapes move the same way.
| Chord | Root on the 6th string | Root on the 5th string |
|---|---|---|
| C | 8th fret | 3rd fret |
| D♭ | 9th fret | 4th fret |
| D | 10th fret | 5th fret |
| E♭ | 11th fret | 6th fret |
| E | Open (12th fret) | 7th fret |
| F | 1st fret | 8th fret |
| F♯ | 2nd fret | 9th fret |
| G | 3rd fret | 10th fret |
| A♭ | 4th fret | 11th fret |
| A | 5th fret | Open (12th fret) |
| B♭ | 6th fret | 1st fret |
| B | 7th fret | 2nd fret |
Every note on every fret is on the guitar fretboard.
Every guitar chord
Fourteen chord types on all twelve notes. Each page has every shape as a diagram to strum, where each finger goes in words, and the chords that usually come next.
Questions about guitar chords
How do you read a guitar chord chart?
The lines going down are the strings, the 6th (lowest and thickest) on the left, and the lines across are the frets, with the thick one at the top for the nut. A dot is where a finger presses, and its number is the finger: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring and 4 little. A bar across strings is a barre, ○ over a string means play it open and × means don’t play it. A number like 5fr beside the chart is the fret it starts at.
What are the basic guitar chords to learn first?
C, A, G, E, D, Am, Em and Dm: the open chords. None needs a barre, and together they play thousands of songs. Then learn F, which you can start on the top four strings (xx3211), and the seventh chords A7, D7, E7 and G7.
What is a barre chord?
A chord where one finger, usually the index, presses several strings at the same fret. Two barre shapes play every major chord: F’s (133211) with the root on the 6th string, and B♭’s (x13331) with the root on the 5th. Slide either to the root’s fret for another chord.
How many guitar chords are there?
Hundreds, counting every way to play each one. This chart has 168: 14 types (major, minor, 7, maj7, m7, sus2, sus4, add9, 9, 6, dim, m7♭5, dim7 and aug) on all 12 notes, each with two to four shapes.
What does x32010 mean?
It is a chord written as tab, from the 6th string to the 1st: each number is the fret to press, 0 an open string and x a string not played. x32010 is C: the 6th string not played, the 5th at the 3rd fret, the 4th at the 2nd, the 3rd open, the 2nd at the 1st fret and the 1st open.
Can I use these chords to make a song?
Yes. Each chord’s page has “Make a beat”, which opens the free editor with a beat in that chord’s key. Then change any part, add a melody and your voice, part by part. No account is needed to start.
Make a beat to play along to
Open the free editor with a beat playing, then add chords, a melody and your voice, part by part. No account needed to start.
Keep going
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