How to play guitar chords.

How to Read Guitar Chords

Learning how to read guitar chords is one of the first things you need to know when learning how to play guitar. This free guitar lesson will teach you how to read guitar chords (also called guitar chord diagrams), so you can learn any guitar chord.

Guitar chord dictionaries, such as the one in the eMedia Guitar Toolkit (which features over 250 chords, a digital tuner and a metronome for just $4.95), help you learn everything from basic guitar chords for beginners to more advanced chords, including jazz and barre chords.

The Basics of How to Read Guitar Chord Charts

Guitar Finger Numbers

Guitar notation and chord diagrams rely on a system which assigns guitar finger numbers to each finger of a guitarist’s left hand.

Guitar String Numbers

Guitar strings are numbered from 1 to 6, going from the thinnest string (the high E) to the thickest. When you see an O above the string it indicates that the string is to be played open. An X above the string means that it should not be played (i.e. do not pluck it or mute the string so that it so that it can not be heard).

Guitar Fret Numbers

Frets are represented by thinner, horizontal lines. Frets are numbered by starting on the first fret after the nut. The nut (a thick piece of plastic at the end of the guitar fingerboard) is shown as a thick horizontal line at the top of the chart when the nut is in view.

How to Read Guitar Chord Names

Major Chords

When a chord is described by a letter name (for example, C) it is a major chord. In other words, C is the shorthand spelling of the C major chord.

Minor Chords

When the letter name of a chord has a lower-case “m” attached (for example, Cm), it is a minor chord. Thus, Cm is the shorthand spelling for the C minor chord.

Other Guitar Chords

If you see 7 attached to a chord name (for example, A7), it is a seventh or dominant seventh chord. A7 is the shorthand spelling of the A seven, A seventh, or A dominant seventh chord. These chords can also be major or minor. If there is an “M” in front of a number (for example, AM7) it is called a major seventh chord and a m signifies a minor seventh (as in Am7). Most other numbers you see next to chords (e.g., 6, 9, 11, 13) follow the same naming conventions for dominant, major, and minor variations. The abbreviations dim or aug attached to the letter names signify diminished and augmented chords, respectively.

Examples of Reading Guitar Chords

Now that we know guitar fingering, fret and string numbers we can use this information to decipher the guitar chord diagrams below.

How to Play an A Chord

In the open A example, we can see that we see that:

Our first finger holds down the fourth string (D) at the second fret
The second finger holds down the third string (G) at the second fret
The third finger holds down the second string (B) at the second fret
We do not play the low E string (X)
We play the high E and low A strings open (O)

Playing a D Major 7th (D Maj7 or DM7) Chord

In the D Maj 7 example, we can see how:

Our first finger holds down the first (high E), second (B) and third string (G) at the second fret
We do not play the low E string (X)
We play the A and D strings open (O)NOTE: This type of chord is sometimes referred to as a partial barre chord as one finger covers multiple strings

The C Dominant 7th (C7) Chord

In this example, you can read the chord chart as:

Our first finger holds down the second string (B) at the second fret
The second finger holds down the fourth string (D) at the second fret
The third finger holds down the fifth string (A) at the third fret
Our fourth finger (the pinky) holds down the third string (G) at the third fret
We do not play the low E string (X)
We play the high E open (O)

More About Guitar Chords

Use our website to learn a little more about guitar chord theory and how guitar chords are created. For a complete understanding of guitar chords plus how to play common chord progressions, check out eMedia Intermediate Guitar Method. This amazing, interactive guitar lesson software teaches you how to identify intervals and use guitar scales and chord theory to play great solos and master a wide range of styles. The guitar chord dictionary in eMedia Intermediate Guitar Method, as seen below, includes over 1,000 chords!

Chord Theory

As you learn how to play guitar and keyboard, learning basic chord theory will help you become a better player. A musician with a solid understanding of chord theory can use more varied chord voicings for accompaniment and more easily improvise solos and melodies to match a chord progression. Bass players will also use chord theory to create their bass parts.

What is a Chord?

A chord is the simultaneous sounding of three or more notes. Played together, they create what is referred to as harmony. The sound of a chord is based on the relationship of pitches between each of the notes, which are called intervals. Generally the intervals that chords use are the notes found on every other note of a scale. Any chord can be built on any note by using the appropriate formula provided for that particular chord. The notes in a chord are usually played at the same time, but occasionally are played in rapid succession as with arpeggios.

The three broad categories of chords are:

Triads: major, minor, diminished and augmented.
Seventh chords (and other four-tone chords): major, minor, diminished, augmented and dominant.
Extended chords: ninth, eleventh and thirteenth chords: major, minor, diminished, augmented and dominant.

Suspended chords are treated as a special type of chord. All chords can be altered. Note that the octave, which is the same note played higher or lower (e.g., the low E and high E in an E chord), is usually found in chord voicings played on polyphonic instruments like guitar or piano and is not considered a separate interval.

You will find that certain styles of music tend to us particular types of chords and voicings. You can learn much more about guitar chord theory and its applications in eMedia Intermediate Guitar Method, while piano and keyboard players can learn more about chords on their instrument with eMedia Intermediate Piano and Keyboard Method.

Triads

The most common chords are triads. A triad contains three notes commonly built on every other note of a scale. For example, take the C major scale: Begin with the note C and add two more notes in the scale, skipping every other note. The result is a C major triad (C, E, and G). The notes of a triad are numbered from the bottom upward 1, 3, 5. The first note (1) is called the root or tonic. The next note is called the third, and the top note is called the fifth. So for a C chord; the root is C, the third is E and the fifth is a G note.

As shown in the example, the root determines the name of the chord. Although the root is commonly played on the bottom (the lowest note of the chord), sometimes the notes of a chord are rearranged. These chords are called inversions.

Major Chords

A major triad is a chord made up of the root, third, and the fifth of a major scale. In the C major chord, the notes are C, E, and G. The major chord is often abbreviated using the capital letter of the root note — in this case C. When you hear play a C chord, you are being asked to play a C major chord. Major triads can be built on any note using this formula: root + major third + minor third (root + M3 + m3).

Minor Chords

Minor triads are chords made up of the root, third, and fifth of a natural minor scale. You could also consider it the first, flatted third, and fifth notes of a major scale. The notes of the C minor chord are C, Eb, and G. The abbreviated symbol of a minor chord is the capital letter of the root followed by a smallm for minor. So, a C minor triad is written Cm. Minor chords can be built on any note using the formula root + minor third + Major third (root + m3 + M3).

Suspended Chords

Suspended chords are chords where one note is eliminated (usually the third) and replaced with another note (usually the fourth or second note of the scale). Suspended chords are abbreviated as sus, often with a number added to designate the replacement note. The C suspended fourth chord would be written as Csus4.

Seventh Chords

Seventh chords are the most common four-note chords. Like triads, they are built on every other note of a scale, but they have a fourth note:

There are major seventh, minor seventh, diminished seventh, augmented seventh and dominant seventh chords. There is also the seventh chord with a suspended fourth, sometimes called a suspended seventh chord. Any seventh chord can be built on any note using the correct formula.

If you see 7 attached to a chord name (for example, A7), it is a seventh or dominant seventh chord. A7 is the shorthand spelling of the A seventh or A dominant seventh chord. The same rule applies to minor chords. For example, an A minor seventh chord would appear as Am7. The seventh note is the most common color note, used heavily in blues and rock music. If there is a capital M or a triangle (∆) in front of a number (such as with an AM7 or A∆7 chord), it is a major seventh chord.

Other Chords

Seeing other numbers next to chords (e.g., 6, 9, 11, 13) indicate extended chords that follow the same naming conventions and formula you saw with seventh chords. These chords include the basic notes of the major or minor triads plus one or more color notes. Extended chords are used largely in jazz and some classical music. You can also find the 9th and 7#9 (often called the Hendrix chord, as it was used in popular songs by Jimi Hendrix) used in blues, rock, funk, and pop styles. However, you don’t often see more complex extended chords in these music genres.

A diminished chord is a minor chord with a fifth that is only two and 1/2 steps higher than the root. An augmented chord is a major chord with a fifth that is four whole steps higher than the root.

Using Chord Theory

Each chord has a certain character that composers use to make songs invoke happiness, sadness, tension, and other emotions. Chords are strung together to create chord progressions, and the chord progressions for the basis of songs and other compositions. Another way that chords are used creatively is by using variations on a triad to add color to the chord progression. For example, if a chord progression indicates that you play a C chord for 8 measures, you might play a C for four measures and then a C7 for the second four measures.

To understand all the ways that chord theory can enhance your own playing you should investigate eMedia Intermediate Guitar Method, eMedia Intermediate Piano and Keyboard Method, and eMedia Bass Method. The curriculums were designed by highly qualified, professional teachers. They utilize interactivity to help you identify intervals by ear and teach chord theory to help you improvise solos and enhance your playing.

The CAGED Guitar System

The CAGED guitar system is a way of understanding how to play guitar chords in all keys by knowing the fundamentals five basic open chord positions. As you might guess, the five open chords used as the basis of CAGED guitar are the open C, A, G, E and D.

CAGED guitar teaches that if you know how to play basic C, A, G, E and D open chord shapes (with minor and other variations), and can identify the root notes within those shapes, then you can play chords in any key. Also by knowing these shapes all around the guitar neck, you will have a better understanding of how the notes lay out on the guitar and access a huge variety of chord voicings while you play.

Basic CAGED Guitar Chords

First let’s look at the chord shapes with their fingerings. Note that if need to learn these basic CAGED chords, we cover some basic chords here. Also remember that eMedia Guitar Method is the fastest way to learn these chords plus all of the other basics of playing the guitar.

Some Basic Guitar Chord Theory – How Chords Are Made

A chord is three or more notes played at the same time with a certain relationship between the pitches of the notes. The relationship between notes is referred to as intervals. For example, a C major chord combines the first, third and fifth notes of the C major scale (C, E and G). Since the first note of the C scale was the initial starting point when adding the other intervals on top, the C note is called the root of the chord. This root note determines the name the chord (a C chord in this case). If the chord was formed by starting with a D, the chord would be a D chord, and so on. The notes of a chord can be rearranged, creating different positions of the same chord which are called inversions. Three-note chords built with a root, third, and fifth are called triads.

Find the Root

This guitar chord chart shows where the intervals are located in our CAGED guitar chords. R is for the root, 3 is for the Third and 5 is for the Fifth. Knowing where the root is located is the key to being able to move the chord shape around the neck to quickly become a different chord.

Move Chord Shapes to Create Chords in Different Keys

Now that you know where the root of the chord is, simply move (transpose) the chord up the neck and put the root note on a different fret. This creates the same type of chord in a different key. The approach will seem familiar to users of eMedia guitar lesson software as it is seen in the lessons on how to play barre chords and power chords. Those lessons show how to make E and A chord shapes into moveable barre chords. For example, the E shape becomes a G chord by simply moving the whole shape up and creating a barre with your finger on the third fret.

To move the shapes you will need to learn how to barre with your first finger. Basically you are using your finger the same way the guitar nut is used in the normal open chord voicing. Here is a video to illustrate creating a barre on the first fret and using the E shape to create an F chord:

Using this idea, you can see how only using a single chord shape can deliver that chord in any key. Memorizing these basic CAGED chord shapes, their roots and the notes on the fingerboard, lets you create moveable chords that help you play songs in any key.

Know Your Guitar Notes

Now that you have all this power to create new chords, remember that you have to know all the notes on the guitar. Knowing your guitar notes lets you easily see where to put the CAGED chord shapes to create a new chord. Memorize this chart below, and always remember that the notes are in a simple A, B, C, D, E, F, G sequence and then the notes start over again. Also remember that there are 2 frets between each note, except for B to C and E to F where the note pairs are only one fret apart.

Notes-Names-On-The-Guitar-120 — A diagram showing where all the notes are on the guitar fingerboard.

eMedia Intermediate Guitar Method is a great way to learn your intervals, chords and scales. Created with University of Colorado-Boulder’s Kevin Garry, Ph.D., it uses flash card exercises to improve your ear and other interactive tools. Also you learn popular songs and use guitar theory to help you learn how to play guitar solos. It’s like having your own 24/7 private guitar instructor.

Basic Guitar Chords for Beginners

This free guitar lesson teaches you how to play basic guitar chords that use open strings. These chords will help you learn countless songs across pop, rock, blues, country, and other music styles. Most content is taken from the curriculum found in eMedia Guitar Method, the award-winning interactive guitar lesson software that teaches you to play with songs and interactive music technology that can even listen to the notes you play.

Tips for Playing Basic Guitar Chords

Make sure you know how to read guitar chord charts.
Your hand should be in a C shape, perpendicular to the neck, with space between the curve of your hand and the neck. Your thumb should be opposite of your middle finger.
Keep fingers arched and play with the tips of your fingers, to avoid accidentally muting other strings.
Notes should be played slightly behind the fret, but not on the fret. This requires less pressure and creates better tone.
Don’t push down on the strings with any more pressure than is needed to make the note(s) sound.
Don’t be frustrated if chords don’t sound right at first. It takes time to learn how to play guitar chords.
Chords can be strummed, or you can play the individual notes (called an arpeggio) to get a different sound.

How to Play Simple Guitar Chords

The chords below only require one finger to play. So if you are a totally new, beginning guitarist then you can start here and learn how to play easy chords on guitar before going on to learn the more difficult ones. They are the most basic guitar chords for beginners.

How to Play the Simple G Guitar Chord

Strum Simple G by playing three strings with either pick, fingers or thumb while holding the indicated string down behind the 3rd fret with your pinky (see video). Don’t press down too hard.

How to Play the Simple C and G7 Guitar Chords

Strum the Simple C and G7 chords by playing three strings with either pick, fingers or thumb while holding the 1st finger as indicated in the chord charts. Be careful not to touch adjacent open strings with your left-hand finger.

How to Play a Simple Bm Chord

This Bm guitar chord is extremely simple to play.

How to Play Open Guitar Chords

These are the common first position, open chord voicings found in many styles of music. Although these are relatively easy chords, they are found in many great guitar songs. Try to play these versions instead of the simple versions as soon as you can.

How to Play an E Chord

Open E is a very powerful sounding guitar chord, the root of the chord is E and can be heard in both the lowest and highest strings. In addition, all strings are being played. This is also a fairly easy chord to play on the guitar, as your fingers are close together and do not need to stretch too far. Remember to play each string at a time to be sure you are not accidentally muting a string.

How to Play an Em Chord

Em (E minor) is played the same way as E major, but you remove your first finger and let the open G string ring out. The Em is a very powerful sounding guitar chord due to all the open strings being used. Like all minor chords, it sounds a bit wistful and sad compared to a standard E chord.

How to Play a C Chord

Here is the standard open C chord. Notice that by playing the extra lower strings that the chord sounds stronger and bolder than the simple version found earlier. This is because the C note (called the root of the chord) is being played on the lowest string.

How to Play D and D7 Chords

Strum D by playing the four highest guitar strings. Some can remember the D chord easier by thinking of it as a triangle shape, with the D7 as an inverse of the triangle. Note that the video below also shows how to play the A7 chord.

How to Play a Dm Chord

To play the Dm (D minor) chord, you use your first finger on the first fret of the first string, your third finger on the third fret of the B string, and your second finger on the second fret of the G string.

How to Play an A and A7 Chord

These chords use five strings, including the open A (which plays the root of the chord) and open E. Notice that you can play the A7 by simply lifting your second (2nd) finger.

How to Play an Am Chord

To play an Am (A minor) you basically take the E chord formation and move it over one string. Your first finger plays the first fret of the B string, the third finger plays the second fret on the G string, and your second finger is on the second fret of the D string.

How to Play a G Chord

Learning how to play guitar chords will sometimes require some finger stretches. However, after you master the chords and are regularly playing the guitar, then the chords become second nature. To play open G, you must stretch your 3rd finger to play the G note (the root of the guitar chord) on the 3rd fret of your low E string.

How to Play an F Chord

The F chord has a reputation for being very difficult to play on the guitar. This is primarily because it requires using your first finger to hold down two adjacent strings (the E and B strings at the first fret). This is called a partial barre. With regular practice you will be able to play this chord. As with other chords, be sure to play all the individual notes one-at-a-time.

Learn New Guitar Chords and Techniques the Easy Way

Now you can take the fast track to improving your guitar playing with eMedia Guitar Method, which includes over 180 easy-to-follow guitar lessons created by University of Colorado-Boulder’s Kevin Garry, Ph.D.. It features interactive technology that can listen to you play, let you slow-down and loop difficult parts and helps you learn over 70 easy guitar songs. Learn to play hits such as Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door and Rock’n Me. eMedia Interactive Rock Guitar, which concentrates on rock guitar techniques, is also available if you’re a beginning rock guitarist. If you’re really serious about guitar, the eMedia Guitar Deluxe bundle contains both eMedia Guitar Method and eMedia Intermediate Guitar Method.

Use Those Basic Guitar Chords You Just Learned!

Now that you have learned how to play basic guitar chords, you can start using them in some songs or learn how to use them within the CAGED guitar system to make even more chords.