Guitar Chord ChartAn Interactive Chord Dictionary with Diagrams
144 chords – 12 roots × 12 chord types – with fingering diagrams, correctly spelled notes, interval formulas, a piano view and playback for every shape. Free, right in your browser, no app and no sign-up.
How to use the chord chart
A chord name above a lyric is only the start: you also need to know where your fingers go, which notes the chord contains and how it should sound. We hear those three questions every week in our guitar lessons, and this chart answers them on one screen:
- Pick a root. Twelve notes, from C to B.
- Pick a chord type. Major, minor, 7, maj7, m7, sus2, sus4, add9, 9, dim, m7♭5 and aug – enough for most pop, rock, blues, soul and basic jazz.
- Read the notes and the formula. You'll see the chord's notes and formula (1 ♭3 5 ♭7 for m7, for example). The first, highlighted note is the root.
- Choose a shape. Up to three fingerings per chord: an open shape where a comfortable one exists, plus barre shapes with the root on the 6th and on the 5th string.
- Listen and compare. The play button strums each shape from low string to high. Play it back and check you hear the same thing – after tuning up with our online guitar tuner.
- Check the piano. The same chord appears on a keyboard in close position, root in red. If you play keys too, piano chords made simple takes it further.
- Share a link. The address bar updates to your chord (e.g. #chord=Am7). Bookmark it or send it to a bandmate and the chart opens right on it.
What makes it accurate
- Correct note spelling. Every note is named by its role in the chord, so E major shows G♯ (not A♭) and F7 shows E♭ (not D♯) – exactly as in sheet music.
- Shapes derived from the formula. Barre shapes are built from the formula in standard tuning (E A D G B E); open shapes are the ones teachers actually teach.
- A note name under every string. So you can see which string carries the root, the third or the seventh.
From a shape on the screen to a song in your hands
The diagram shows where your fingers go. In lessons you learn to connect the shapes: changes, rhythm and, finally, whole songs.
How to read a chord diagram
A chord diagram shows the neck standing upright in front of you, headstock at the top:
- Vertical lines are strings. The leftmost line is the 6th string – the thick low E – and the rightmost is the 1st string, high E.
- Horizontal lines are frets. A thick bar at the top is the nut. If a number appears at the side instead, that's the fret the diagram starts from.
- Filled dot – press here. Fingertip inside the space, close to the fret wire below it.
- O above a string – play it open. No finger needed.
- X above a string – don't play it. Skip it, or mute it with a light touch from a neighboring finger.
- Red bar across – a barre. Your index finger presses several strings at the same fret.
The numbers under each diagram say the same thing from low string to high – the standard way chords are written in tabs. C major is x 3 2 0 1 0: 6th string muted, ring finger on the 3rd fret of the 5th string, middle on the 2nd fret of the 4th, 3rd string open, index on the 1st fret of the 2nd, 1st string open.
Barre chords: the E shape and A shape – the core of CAGED
A barre chord is an open shape slid up the neck, with your index finger doing the nut's job. The CAGED system turns the five open shapes – C, A, G, E and D – into movable shapes, and its name gives the order in which they follow each other up the neck. The chart shows the two most practical ones:
E shape – root on the 6th string
This is the open E chord (0 2 2 1 0 0) played over a full six-string barre. The chord takes its name from the note under the barre on the 6th string: at the 1st fret it's F (1 3 3 2 1 1), at the 3rd it's G, at the 5th it's A. The same works for Em: barre it at the 2nd fret and you get F♯m (2 4 4 2 2 2).
A shape – root on the 5th string
This is the open A chord (x 0 2 2 2 0) played over a barre on the top five strings. The note on the 5th string names the chord: B♭ at the 1st fret, B at the 2nd (x 2 4 4 4 2), C at the 3rd. In minor, Bm at the 2nd fret is x 2 4 4 3 2 – the chord almost every beginner meets by their third song.
To know where to put the barre, you need the notes on the two low strings:
| Fret | 6th string (E) | 5th string (A) |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | E | A |
| 1 | F | A♯/B♭ |
| 2 | F♯/G♭ | B |
| 3 | G | C |
| 4 | G♯/A♭ | C♯/D♭ |
| 5 | A | D |
| 6 | A♯/B♭ | D♯/E♭ |
| 7 | B | E |
| 8 | C | F |
| 9 | C♯/D♭ | F♯/G♭ |
| 10 | D | G |
| 11 | D♯/E♭ | G♯/A♭ |
| 12 | E | A |
Chord types: formula, notes and character
A formula describes the chord against its root's major scale: 1 is the root, 3 the third, 5 the fifth, 7 the seventh and 9 the ninth (the 2nd degree, an octave up). ♭ lowers a degree a semitone, ♯ raises it. Major versus minor is one semitone in the third: four semitones above the root in major, three in minor. Every type in the chart, with C as the example:
| Chord | Formula | Notes | Sound and use |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | 1 3 5 | C E G | Bright and stable. "Home" in most songs. |
| Cm | 1 ♭3 5 | C E♭ G | Darker, emotional, melancholic. |
| C7 | 1 3 5 ♭7 | C E G B♭ | Tension that wants to resolve (C7 to F). The heart of the blues. |
| Cmaj7 | 1 3 5 7 | C E G B | Soft and dreamy. Jazz, bossa nova, neo-soul. |
| Cm7 | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | C E♭ G B♭ | Mellow, flowing minor. Soul, funk, R&B. |
| Csus2 | 1 2 5 | C D G | Open and airy. No third, so neither major nor minor. |
| Csus4 | 1 4 5 | C F G | Gentle tension that usually resolves to major (Csus4 to C). |
| Cadd9 | 1 3 5 9 | C E G D | Major with sparkle, no seventh. An acoustic-pop favorite. |
| C9 | 1 3 5 ♭7 9 | C E G B♭ D | A richer dominant. Funk, blues, soul. |
| Cdim | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | C E♭ G♭ | Tense and unstable. A passing chord. |
| Cm7♭5 | 1 ♭3 ♭5 ♭7 | C E♭ G♭ B♭ | "Half-diminished." Opens the minor ii–V–i. |
| Caug | 1 3 ♯5 | C E G♯ | Floating and mysterious. Chromatic moves like C–Caug–C6. |
Three distinctions worth knowing
- sus2 vs add9. Both contain D (in a C chord), but in sus2 it replaces the third, while in add9 it's added on top of it. That's why add9 still sounds major and sus2 sounds neutral.
- dim vs dim7. The chart shows the diminished triad (1 ♭3 ♭5). On jazz charts, ° or dim often means the full diminished seventh chord, with a diminished seventh (♭♭7) on top – check what your chart intends.
- aug is symmetrical. An augmented chord is two stacked major thirds, so Caug, Eaug and G♯aug contain exactly the same pitches, just spelled differently.
The best first chords for beginners – and the order to learn them
You don't need 144 chords to play songs. A handful of open chords covers countless pop, rock and folk songs. The order we recommend:
- Em and Am. Em needs just two fingers (0 2 2 0 0 0) and Am three (x 0 2 2 1 0). Both ring nicely even before your fretting is perfect.
- E, A and D. Notice that E (0 2 2 1 0 0) is exactly the Am shape moved one string toward the bass. D uses only the top four strings.
- G and C. The two chords that stretch the hand. Together with D and Em, they cover a large share of songs in the key of G.
- Dm and the 7 chords. Dm completes the key-of-C family, and A7, D7, E7 and B7 are the backbone of blues and rock 'n' roll.
- F – your first barre. Once your open-chord changes are steady, it's barre time. Until it clicks, Fmaj7 (x x 3 2 1 0) stands in nicely in many songs.
Progressions to practice
- G – D – Em – C. The I–V–vi–IV progression in G, one of pop's most common. The same progression in D drives U2's "With or Without You".
- C – G – Am – F. The same progression in C, as in the verses of the Beatles' "Let It Be". With Fmaj7 instead of F, it's playable in your first week.
- G – D – Am / G – D – C. Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" – a whole song on four open chords.
- 12-bar blues in A. A7 for four bars, D7 for two, A7 for two, then E7, D7, A7, E7 – one bar each.
They're also a great launch pad for writing: change the rhythm and the chord order, and you'll soon see how to write your first song of your own.
Common mistakes – and how to fix them
- Pressing in the middle of the space. A fingertip far from the fret needs more force and buzzes. Move it right up to the fret wire, without sitting on top of it.
- A finger touching the next string. Play the chord one string at a time. Every dead string gives away a flat finger – arch your knuckles and press with the tip.
- Strumming a string marked X. On D you start from the 4th string. An open 6th string adds a low E that isn't in the chord and muddies it.
- Lifting every finger on every change. Look for shared fingers: between Am and C, your index (1st fret, 2nd string) and middle finger (2nd fret, 4th string) stay put, and only the ring finger moves.
- Squeezing the barre with your thumb. A thumb death-grip tires you out without cleaning up the sound. Roll your index slightly onto its harder edge (facing the headstock), keep it right behind the fret, and let your arm's weight pull the neck toward you. Still not clean after a few weeks? The strings may be too high – the guitar may need a setup.
For the changes themselves, the drills in our guide to changing guitar chords fast pair perfectly with this chart.
Guitar chords: frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a major and a minor chord?
The third. In major it sits four semitones above the root, in minor three: C major is C–E–G and C minor is C–E♭–G. On guitar, the difference between E and Em is one finger – lift the finger off the 1st fret of the 3rd string and G♯ becomes G.
What is a barre chord, and why is it so hard at first?
A barre chord uses the index finger to press several strings at the same fret, turning an open shape into one you can move anywhere on the neck. It's mostly technique, not strength: finger close to the fret, rolled slightly onto its side, arm weight doing the work. For most students it starts sounding clean after a few weeks of short, regular practice.
Why does the chart say E♭ and not D♯?
They're the same pitch, but the name depends on the note's role in the chord. Chords are built on alternating letter names (C, E, G), so the third of C minor is E♭ while the third of B major is D♯. Correct spelling makes theory and sheet music far easier to follow.
What's the difference between C7 and Cmaj7?
The seventh. In C7 it's B♭, a minor seventh, and the chord sounds tense and bluesy, pulling toward F. In Cmaj7 it's B, a major seventh, and the chord sounds soft and dreamy. In chord symbols, a plain 7 always means the minor seventh.
Can I use the chord chart for piano too?
Yes. Every chord is also shown on a keyboard in close position, with the root in red, and you can play all the notes together. From there you move on to inversions and accompaniment – which is exactly what we cover in our piano lessons.
Where can I take guitar lessons in North Tel Aviv?
Rockstar music school is in Ramat Aviv Gimel, a short drive from Neve Avivim, Green Ramat Aviv, Bavli, Tzahala and Kokhav HaTzafon. We offer guitar lessons in North Tel Aviv at the school, as well as Rockstar Home lessons at your place, subject to teacher availability. More in our guide to music lessons in Ramat Aviv.
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Open tool →From chords on a screen to songs in your hands
The chart shows you where your fingers go. A teacher shows you how to turn that into music: rhythm, clean changes, barres that work and the songs you love. Come for a free, no-commitment intro lesson at our music school in Ramat Aviv Gimel, North Tel Aviv.
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