Guitar chord dictionary
Pick a root and a quality to see every way to play the chord on the neck, from the open shape up to the 12th fret.
CC · E · G
4 ways to play it · Tuning E A D G B E
- Open
- A shape · 3rd fret
- G shape · 5th fret
- E shape · 8th fret
Every chord, in every key
How to read the chord diagrams
Each diagram is the neck seen from the front, low E string on the left. A filled dot is a fretted note, numbered by the finger that plays it; an open circle is an open string, and an × a string you don't play. A bar across several strings is a barre, and a number beside the first fret row says where up the neck the shape sits. Notes drawn in mustard are the chord's root.
Every chord has several shapes: the open one near the nut, and movable barre shapes further up. Pick the one closest to where your hand already is — that's what makes chord changes smooth.
Beyond the shape
Each chord page also lists the chord's notes and intervals, and the scales that sound good over it — the starting point for improvising over that chord.
Questions
Which chords should a beginner learn first?
The open chords: C, A, G, E and D major, and A, E and D minor. They cover most pop, rock and folk songs. Then the barre shapes of E and A, which unlock every other key.
How do I find the chords of a song?
Upload the track to easyimprov: it detects the key, tempo and chords bar by bar, and shows the shapes and what to play over each chord as the song plays.