How to Read a Guitar Chord Chart

Level 1: Before you play

A chord chart is a picture of the guitar neck that shows where to put your fingers. Chords are groups of 3 or more notes played together, and once you can read a chart you can play any chord on this site. Charts here follow the left- or right-handed setting at the top of the page.

Your fretting hand and finger numbers

Your fretting hand is the hand that presses the strings at different places on the neck to select (fret) notes. For left-handed players, your fretting hand is your right hand.For right-handed players, your fretting hand is your left hand. Chord charts number the fingers on that hand, and we focus on fingers 1 to 4. The thumb is not commonly used to fret chords.

• T is your thumb. It rests behind the neck.
• 1 is your index finger.
• 2 is your middle finger.
• 3 is your ring finger.
• 4 is your pinky.

How a chord chart works

The chart represents a section of a guitar neck. The black bar at the top is the nut. Frets count from 1 downwards: 1, 2, 3, 4 and so on. The vertical lines are the 6 strings, and the letters above the chart name them. The letters below the chart show the note each string sounds when you play the chord. This example is A major.

1. Strings. The six vertical lines are the strings: Low E (thickest), A, D, G, B and high e (thinnest). The letters above the chart name them. On a right-handed chart the thickest string is on the left.On a left-handed chart the thickest strings run from right to left in that order: Low E, A, D, G, B, then high e on the far left.
2. The nut. The thick black bar at the top is the nut, where the neck ends and the open strings begin.
3. Frets. Each horizontal line is a fret. They count from 1 downwards: 1, 2, 3, 4 and so on. Press just behind the fret line. Pressing the string is called “fretting”.
4. Solid circles. A solid circle is a string you fret as part of the chord. The number inside is the finger to use. An amber circle marks the root note, the note the chord is named after.
5. Open and muted strings. An open circle above the nut is a string you play without fretting it. An X is a string that is not played or is muted. Muting refers to when you lightly touch a string so that it does not sound out even if picked accidentally.
6. Sounding notes. The letters at the bottom of the chart name the note that sounds on each string when it is fretted as shown and picked. An open string sounds its own name, so the A string gives A and the high e string gives E. Fretting changes the note: finger 1 on the D string raises it to E, finger 2 on the G string raises it to A, and finger 3 on the B string raises it to C♯. The muted low E string has no note.

Chord example: E minor

1. Look above the nut. No string has an X, so nothing is muted. The open circles mark the four strings you play open.
2. Finger 2 (middle) goes on the 5th string (A), 2nd fret.
3. Finger 3 (ring) goes on the 4th string (D), 2nd fret. This is the amber dot, the E note the chord is named after.
4. Strum all six strings. The letters below the chart show the notes you will hear: E, B, E, G, B, E.

Other things you will see

• A number beside the chart, such as 5fr, means the chart starts at that fret instead of at the nut. Chords higher up the neck often show this.
• A bar across several dots is a barre. One finger, usually your index, presses all those strings at once.
• Letters under the chart name the notes the chord is made of, so you can check what you are playing.

Now try it