Guides
How to read guitar chord diagrams
A chord diagram is a picture of the fretboard seen from the front. Once you know which line is which string, every chart in every book reads the same way.
In short
- Vertical lines are strings (low E on the left), horizontal lines are frets, the thick bar at the top is the nut.
- Dots show where to press; numbers say which finger (1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little). O = play open, X = don’t play.
- A label such as 5fr means the top line is the 5th fret, not the nut.
On this page
The grid: strings and frets
Stand the guitar up in front of you with the headstock at the top and the strings facing you. That is the view a chord diagram draws. The six vertical lines are the strings: the thick low E on the left, the thin high E on the right. The horizontal lines are the metal fret wires, and the thick line at the top is the nut, where the strings leave the headstock.
- A dot between two fret lines means “press here”, just behind the lower fret wire. A dot in the first row is the 1st fret.
- Most charts show four or five frets. That covers almost every open chord and keeps the drawing readable on a phone.
- A tab or chord sheet from another site may be drawn sideways, like the neck when you look down at it. Turn it in your head: the low E is always the string nearest your face.
Dots, numbers, O and X
Everything else on the diagram is one of these marks. Our guitar chord pages use the same conventions as printed chord books.
| Mark | What to do |
|---|---|
| Filled dot | Press that string at that fret. |
| Number in or under a dot | The finger to use: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little, T thumb. |
| O above the nut | Play the string open, without pressing it. |
| X above the nut | Do not play that string: skip it with the pick or mute it with a finger. |
| Bar or curved line across strings | A barre: one finger, usually the index, presses several strings at the same fret. |
| “3fr”, “5fr” or a Roman numeral | The diagram starts at that fret instead of the nut. Move your hand up the neck. |
| Highlighted dot or string | The root note. Useful for finding the bass note and for moving shapes. |
Finger numbers are advice, not law
The numbers show the fingering that works for most hands and leads easily to the next chord. If your hand is small or the stretch hurts, another fingering that sounds clean is fine. The one thing to keep is the fingertip: press with the tip, close to the fret wire, with the finger arched so it does not touch the string next to it.
Reading a new chord in six steps
Do this slowly the first few times. After a dozen chords it becomes one glance.
- Read the name and check for a fret label. No label and a thick nut line: the shape sits at the end of the neck.
- Find the lowest dot and its string. Count frets from the nut (or from the labelled fret) and place that finger first.
- Add the other fingers, working across the strings. Fingers usually go down lowest string first.
- Look above the nut. Note which strings are O (ring open) and which are X (stay silent).
- Strum only the strings that should sound, starting at the first one without an X.
- Pick the strings one at a time. Each should ring clearly; a buzz or a dead note means a finger is too far from the fret or leaning on a neighbour.
Barres and shapes up the neck
When a bar crosses several strings, the index finger lies flat across them at that fret. When the diagram starts higher than the 1st fret, the label tells you where. The F and B minor shapes below are the two you will see most often.
Because a barre shape contains no open strings, you can slide it anywhere: the same shape two frets higher is a chord two semitones higher. That is why one barre shape gives you twelve chords. The technique has its own guide: barre chords made easy.
Reading the chord name
The letter above the diagram is the root. What follows it tells you the type of chord. You will meet these seven constantly:
| Symbol | Name | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| C | C major | Bright and settled. A letter on its own always means major. |
| Cm | C minor | Darker, softer. Also written C-, Cmi or Cmin. |
| C7 | C seventh (dominant 7th) | Bluesy, restless; wants to move on to the next chord. |
| Cmaj7 | C major seventh | Soft, dreamy. Also written CΔ or CM7. |
| Cm7 | C minor seventh | Mellow minor, common in soul, jazz and pop. |
| Csus4 | C suspended fourth | Open and unresolved; the 4th replaces the 3rd. |
| C/G | C over G (slash chord) | A C chord with G as the lowest note. |
Ukulele diagrams
Ukulele charts work the same way with four lines instead of six. From left to right they are G, C, E and A, so the leftmost line is the string nearest your face, even though with standard tuning it is not the lowest note. Shapes are not interchangeable with guitar: the same picture means a different chord on each instrument. See the ukulele chord library for every shape.
Left-handed diagrams
If you play left-handed with the strings reversed, every diagram is a mirror image: the low E is on the right. Most books only print right-handed charts, so lefties learn to flip them mentally. On our chord pages the left-handed switch mirrors every diagram for you, and the setting is remembered on your device.
Chord diagrams vs tab and piano charts
Tablature (tab) is a different notation: six horizontal lines with fret numbers written on them, read left to right in time. A chord in tab is a column of numbers, for example 0-1-0-2-3-x read from the high E down to the low E for C major. It tells you what to play and when; a chord diagram only tells you the shape.
Piano chord charts show a short keyboard with the keys to press highlighted, often with finger numbers 1 to 5 starting from the thumb. Our piano chord pages show each chord in every inversion, so you can pick the one nearest your hand.
Frequently asked questions
Which string is on the left of a guitar chord diagram?
The thickest string, low E (string 6). The rightmost line is the thin high E (string 1). Left-handed charts are mirrored.
What do X and O mean on a chord chart?
O means play the string open without pressing it. X means do not play that string at all, either by skipping it or by muting it lightly with a finger.
What do the numbers in the dots mean?
Fingers of the fretting hand: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little finger, and T for the thumb when it wraps over the neck.
What does 3fr or 5fr next to a chord mean?
The top row of the diagram is that fret, not the nut. A barre drawn at the top of a 5fr diagram is pressed at the 5th fret.
Is a lone letter like C a major chord?
Yes. A root letter on its own always means a major triad. Minor is marked with m, as in Cm or Am.