Guitar Chord Chart & Chord Dictionary
A chord is a group of notes played together: a major triad combines the root, a major third and a perfect fifth, so C major is C, E and G. This guitar chord chart shows those notes as diagrams for acoustic and electric guitar, piano, ukulele, mandolin and bass, and also for less common instruments such as the cavaquinho, viola caipira, charango, cuatro and bajo sexto.
Chords and their notes
A major triad contains the root, a major third and a perfect fifth; a minor triad swaps the major third for a minor third.
| Chord | Notes |
|---|---|
| C | C E G |
| Cm | C E♭ G |
| G | G B D |
| G7 | G B D F |
How to use it
- Check the instrument and the tuning.
- Choose the root and the chord type. The Bass menu lets you ask for a slash chord such as C/E.
- Read 0 as an open string and x as a string or course you don't play.
- Tap a diagram to hear it; use More positions to explore other shapes.
- Print the diagrams on screen when you want to practice on paper, or use Copy link to save the chord in the address.
Help and explanations
Choose the instrument and the tuning before copying a shape. The chord name describes the notes; the diagram shows where to play them with that tuning. Positions are calculated from the tuning instead of coming from a fixed list, and they are sorted from easiest to hardest. You can hear each diagram and compare shapes in different parts of the neck.
Notes, chord tones and inversions
The third tells major from minor: in C, E becomes E♭. A seventh chord adds one more note, a major or minor seventh depending on the symbol. Switch the dots to notes or chord tones to understand what each note does instead of just memorizing the shape.
An inversion puts another chord tone in the bass. On reentrant instruments such as the ukulele and the charango, the order of the strings in the diagram doesn't follow pitch; the engine uses the real pitches to decide which note is the bass.
Adapting a shape to your instrument
Double and triple courses count as one string position in the diagram, even though they have more than one string. On the viola caipira, also check which tuning is selected. A shape taken from another instrument can give different notes on the same frets.
Start with a comfortable shape and play one string at a time to find muted notes. To accompany a song, practice the changes in time; compact shapes can make the changes easier even when they don't use every string.
How the chord names are written
The chord symbols follow the usual style of English chord charts: Cmaj7, Cm7♭5, Cdim7, Caug, Cadd9. Under each chord you will also see other common spellings, such as C7M, CM7 or CΔ for Cmaj7, so you can match whatever your songbook uses. One trap: in Brazilian songbooks C9 means Cadd9 (no seventh), which is why it shows up among the spellings of Cadd9. In English charts C9 is the dominant ninth, shown here as C7(9).
Tips
- Tune your instrument before judging how a chord sounds.
- Watch the third when you compare the major and minor versions.
- Don't play the strings marked x: they stay out of the chord.
- In Left-handed mode the diagram is mirrored; check which string is which.
Frequently asked questions
How do I read a chord diagram?
Vertical lines are strings, horizontal lines are frets and the dots show where to press. 0 means an open string and x means don't play it. Check the orientation and the tuning selected.
Which guitar chords should I learn first?
Start with the chords of a song you want to play and look for comfortable major, minor and seventh shapes. On guitar, G, C, D, Em, Am and E are a classic first set; the easiest shapes depend on the instrument and tuning.
Do guitar and ukulele use the same chord shapes?
The chord name stands for the same notes, but the shapes change with the tuning. Select the instrument to get the right diagrams.
What does a slash chord mean?
The note after the slash is the bass: C/E is C major with E in the bass. The shape has to respect the real pitch of the notes.
How do I print chords?
Use Print for the diagrams on screen. To keep a file, choose "Save as PDF" in the print dialog.
Why does one chord have several shapes?
The same notes appear in several places on the neck and can be spread across different octaves or inversions. Pick the shape that suits the passage you are playing.