The short version
- 156 chord charts: 12 roots × 13 chord types, each with 2–3 shapes, finger numbers, the notes, and Strum/Pick buttons.
- Beginners: learn G, C, D and Em first. That’s hundreds of songs already.
- Two barre shapes play everything. The E-shape (root on the 6th string) and A-shape (root on the 5th string) move up the neck to give you any major or minor chord.
- Hate barre chords? Every chord without an open shape comes with a capo cheat.
- Every page links onward: the keys a chord lives in, chords that go with it, and a progression you can hear.
Every chord in the library
Rows are the root note; columns are the chord type. Sharps and flats with two names (C♯ and D♭, say) share a row, because on a guitar they’re the same chord.
| Root | maj | m | 7 | maj7 | m7 | sus2 | sus4 | add9 | 5 | dim | aug | 6 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | C | Cm | C7 | Cmaj7 | Cm7 | Csus2 | Csus4 | Cadd9 | C5 | Cdim | Caug | C6 | C9 |
| C♯ / D♭ | C♯ | C♯m | C♯7 | C♯maj7 | C♯m7 | C♯sus2 | C♯sus4 | C♯add9 | C♯5 | C♯dim | C♯aug | C♯6 | C♯9 |
| D | D | Dm | D7 | Dmaj7 | Dm7 | Dsus2 | Dsus4 | Dadd9 | D5 | Ddim | Daug | D6 | D9 |
| E♭ / D♯ | E♭ | E♭m | E♭7 | E♭maj7 | E♭m7 | E♭sus2 | E♭sus4 | E♭add9 | E♭5 | E♭dim | E♭aug | E♭6 | E♭9 |
| E | E | Em | E7 | Emaj7 | Em7 | Esus2 | Esus4 | Eadd9 | E5 | Edim | Eaug | E6 | E9 |
| F | F | Fm | F7 | Fmaj7 | Fm7 | Fsus2 | Fsus4 | Fadd9 | F5 | Fdim | Faug | F6 | F9 |
| F♯ / G♭ | F♯ | F♯m | F♯7 | F♯maj7 | F♯m7 | F♯sus2 | F♯sus4 | F♯add9 | F♯5 | F♯dim | F♯aug | F♯6 | F♯9 |
| G | G | Gm | G7 | Gmaj7 | Gm7 | Gsus2 | Gsus4 | Gadd9 | G5 | Gdim | Gaug | G6 | G9 |
| A♭ / G♯ | A♭ | A♭m | A♭7 | A♭maj7 | A♭m7 | A♭sus2 | A♭sus4 | A♭add9 | A♭5 | A♭dim | A♭aug | A♭6 | A♭9 |
| A | A | Am | A7 | Amaj7 | Am7 | Asus2 | Asus4 | Aadd9 | A5 | Adim | Aaug | A6 | A9 |
| B♭ / A♯ | B♭ | B♭m | B♭7 | B♭maj7 | B♭m7 | B♭sus2 | B♭sus4 | B♭add9 | B♭5 | B♭dim | B♭aug | B♭6 | B♭9 |
| B | B | Bm | B7 | Bmaj7 | Bm7 | Bsus2 | Bsus4 | Badd9 | B5 | Bdim | Baug | B6 | B9 |
How to read a guitar chord chart
- Stand the guitar up, facing you. The vertical lines are strings, low E on the left, high E on the right.
- Horizontal lines are frets. The thick top line is the nut. If you see “5fr”, the chart starts at the 5th fret.
- Dots are fingers. 1 is your index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little. A long bar is a barre: one finger flat across several strings.
- ○ means play the string open, × means skip it. The cyan dot is the root, the note the chord is named after.
- Press Strum on any chord page and compare. If yours sounds duller, a string is muted somewhere.
Chord types explained (using C)
Thirteen flavours, one root. Each type follows the same recipe in every key, so learn the sound once and you’ll recognise it everywhere.
| Chord | Type | Formula | Sounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| C | major | 1 3 5 | bright, settled and happy |
| Cm | minor | 1 ♭3 5 | sad, moody or thoughtful |
| C7 | dominant 7th | 1 3 5 ♭7 | bluesy, restless, waiting to resolve |
| Cmaj7 | major 7th | 1 3 5 7 | dreamy, jazzy, sunset-in-a-convertible |
| Cm7 | minor 7th | 1 ♭3 5 ♭7 | mellow, cool and smooth |
| Csus2 | sus2 | 1 2 5 | open, airy, undecided |
| Csus4 | sus4 | 1 4 5 | tense, then relieved |
| Cadd9 | add9 | 1 3 5 9 | bright, pretty and modern |
| C5 | power chord | 1 5 | loud, neutral and heavy |
| Cdim | diminished | 1 ♭3 ♭5 | tense, spooky, unresolved |
| Caug | augmented | 1 3 ♯5 | unsettled, dreamy, about-to-happen |
| C6 | major 6th | 1 3 5 6 | sweet, vintage, a bit 1950s |
| C9 | dominant 9th | 1 3 5 ♭7 9 | funky, bluesy and slick |
Open chords, barre chords and the capo
Open chords use unfretted strings and live in the first three frets. They’re the easiest to play and ring the most, which is why campfire songs are mostly G, C, D and Em.
Barre chords replace the nut with your index finger, so the shape can slide anywhere. Learn the F barre (E-shape) and the B♭ barre (A-shape), and you can play every major chord. Change one finger and you have every minor chord too.
The capo is a barre you can buy. Clamp it on a fret and the open shapes move up with it: capo 1 plus an E shape gives F, and capo 2 plus a G shape gives A. It’s not cheating. Or if it is, every singer-songwriter on earth is in on it.
Why I built this: I’m a guitarist with a Cort, a lot of enthusiasm and roughly twelve notes. Every chord site I used was 10% diagram and 90% pop-ups, and none of them let me hear whether my F actually sounded like an F. So each chord here plays, and the shapes are double-checked note by note, so no mystery wrong-fret diagrams.
Guitar chord FAQ
How many guitar chords are there?
In theory, hundreds: every one of the 12 notes can be the root of dozens of chord types. In practice, 156 chords (12 roots × 13 types) cover nearly every pop, rock, folk, blues and worship song. This library has all of them.
What are the first guitar chords to learn?
Start with the open chords Em, G, C, D, Am, E, A and Dm. With G, C, D and Em alone you can play hundreds of songs.
How do you read a guitar chord chart?
The vertical lines are the strings, low E on the left and high E on the right. The horizontal lines are the frets, and the thick line at the top is the nut. Dots show where to press; the number in each dot is the finger (1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little). An o above a string means play it open; an x means don’t play it. A number like “5fr” means the chart starts at the 5th fret.
What is a barre chord?
A chord where one finger, usually the index, presses several strings at the same fret. Barre chords let you move one shape up and down the neck to play any root, so the E-shape and A-shape barres cover every major and minor chord there is.
How can I play a chord without a barre?
Use a capo. A capo is a clamp that acts as a barre for you, so you can play an easy open shape higher up the neck. For example, capo on the 1st fret plus an open E shape gives you F. Each chord page in this library suggests a capo option when the chord has no open shape.
What do chord symbols like m, 7, maj7 and sus4 mean?
A letter on its own is a major chord. m means minor, 7 adds a bluesy flat seventh, maj7 adds a dreamy major seventh, m7 is minor with a flat seventh, sus2 and sus4 replace the third with the second or fourth, add9 adds a ninth, 5 is a power chord (root and fifth only), dim is diminished, aug is augmented, 6 adds a sixth and 9 is a seventh chord with a ninth on top.
Can I hear the chords?
Yes. Every chord page has Strum and Pick buttons for each shape, plus a Play progression button. The sound is a plucked-string synth made in your browser, so nothing is downloaded or uploaded.
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