How to read guitar chord diagrams

The 30-second version

The grid is the neck. Vertical lines are strings, horizontal lines are frets. A dot tells you where to put a finger; an X means leave that string out; an O means play it open. That is the whole system.

Strings and frets: get the orientation right

The six vertical lines are the six strings. The thick low E is on the left, the thin high E is on the right. That is the opposite of how the guitar looks when you look down at your own hands, which is the first thing that confuses beginners.

The horizontal lines are frets. The thick line at the top is the nut. If a diagram starts higher up the neck, a small number appears to the left: “5fr” means the top line of the grid is the 5th fret, not the nut.

Dots and finger numbers

A dot tells you where to press. The number inside the dot is the finger: 1 is the index, 2 the middle, 3 the ring, 4 the pinky. A dot without a number is still a valid note — it just means the arranger did not specify a fingering.

X, O, and muted strings

An O above a string means play it open. An X means do not play it. This is why C major is written x32010: the low E is muted, then A/3, D/2, G/open, B/1, high E/open.

Muted strings are not a mistake. They are part of the chord’s sound. If you strum through an X, the chord will usually sound muddy rather than fuller.

Barre chords and the curved line

A curved line across several strings is a barre. One finger — usually the index — presses all of those strings at the same fret. The number next to the line tells you which finger to use.

The F chord below is a full barre: the index finger covers all six strings at the 1st fret, while the other three fingers make an E major shape. The 1fr label means the grid starts at the first fret.

Chord names and suffixes

The diagram usually tells you the chord name above the grid. A plain letter is a major chord. m means minor, 7 adds a flat seventh, maj7 uses the natural seventh, and sus replaces the third with a second or fourth. Slash chords such as C/E mean “a C chord with E in the bass”.

Read these three examples

G major uses six strings, three fingers and three open strings. C major mutes the low E and leaves the high E open. F major is a barre: one finger covers six strings while the other fingers form the shape.

If you can describe those three out loud — which strings are open, which are muted, where the barre is — you can read the rest of the library.

Practice: name that chord

Five diagrams, five choices. Look at the X and O markers first, then count the dots. The quiz gives instant feedback and explains the open-position spelling.

Frequently asked questions