A chord chart is a map of one shape.
It shows which strings to play, where each finger goes and which strings stay open or silent. Our charts are mirrored for a left-handed player, so you can read the shape without reversing it in your head.
Start with the orientation.
A portrait chord chart represents a short section of the neck. For every chart in this site, the high e string is at the left and the thick low E string is at the right.
- 1The thick line across the top is the nut.
- 2Vertical lines are strings. Their weights increase toward the low E.
- 3Horizontal spaces are frets. Place the finger between the fret wires.
- 4Gold marks the root note, which gives the chord its name.
Everything above and inside the grid has a job.
Chord name
The name above the chart tells you the harmony. The same chord may have several usable voicings.
Circle means open
Play that string without fretting it. An open string can still be an important chord tone.
Cross means skip it
Do not let a string marked × ring. Mute it or avoid striking it.
Dot means fret here
Place the fingertip in the space shown, close to the next fret wire without sitting on it.
Finger numbers are not fret numbers.
The small number below a string tells you which fretting finger to use: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring and 4 little finger. The thumb normally supports the neck and is not numbered on a standard chord chart.
A suggested fingering is a practical starting point. Hand size, the surrounding chords and the musical part may make another fingering more comfortable.
Chord tones can repeat.
A major triad contains a root, major third and perfect fifth. A major contains A, C♯ and E, but the open shape uses five strings, so A and E appear more than once.
The chart shows the complete playable voicing, not just the three different note names in the chord formula.
Check the symbols before you strum.
A circle means the string rings open. A cross means the string is not part of that voicing. A blank position above a string usually means the string is fretted, so look for its dot inside the chart.
A barre replaces the nut.
The number beside the chart tells you where the shape begins. In this example, the index finger bars fret 5 while the other fingers complete an E-shape A major chord.
A solid or curved line across several strings means one finger holds them at the same fret. The line represents the barre, not a separate note.
Because the shape has no open strings, it can move along the neck. Its chord name changes with the root note.
Four checks prevent most chart-reading mistakes.
- Confirm you are looking at a left-handed chart. Here, high e is at the left and low E is at the right.
- Check every open and muted string before forming the fretted notes.
- Read finger numbers as fingers, not as the order of notes or the fret number.
- Use the chord name and root notes to understand the shape, not just memorise a pattern.
Put the symbols into practice.
Choose a root and chord type, then compare several left-handed voicings.