Reading a chord diagram
A chord diagram is a picture of the neck as if you were looking at the guitar standing upright. The vertical lines are the strings (the thickest on the left), the horizontal lines are frets, and the thick bar at the top is the nut. A dot is where a finger goes. An open circle above a string means "play it open", a cross means "don't play this string", and a flat bar across strings is a barre.
Naming a shape
To name a chord from a diagram, list the notes it plays: each open string, plus each fretted string's note. Use the fretboard trainer to get fast at that. Then spot the root (the lowest note of the chord, usually) and the quality: is there a major or minor third? A seventh? Eventually you stop calculating and just recognise the shapes, the way you recognise a word.
One chord, many shapes
The same chord can be played in several places on the neck. The open shapes (C, A, G, E, D and their minors) are the foundation. Barre shapes are those open shapes moved up the neck with a finger acting as the nut, so one shape gives you every root. The hardest level also uses unusual positions, so you learn to read the notes rather than memorise pictures.
Looking for a particular chord? The guitar chord library and ukulele chord library show every shape with the notes spelled out. Reading chord names? Practise with the chord symbols drill.
Frequently asked questions
How do I read a chord diagram?
The diagram is the neck seen head-on: vertical lines are the strings (thickest on the left), horizontal lines are the frets, and the thick bar at the top is the nut. A dot is a finger, an open circle above a string means play it open, and a cross means do not play it. A number beside the diagram means the shape starts at that fret.
What is a barre chord?
A chord where one finger lays flat across several strings at the same fret, acting like a movable nut. Because the shape can slide up the neck, one barre shape gives you a chord for every root.
What are open chords?
Chords played in the first few frets using open (unfretted) strings, like C, A, G, E, D, Am and Em. They are the first chords most players learn and sound big and ringing.
Why does the same chord have several shapes?
The same notes can be found in many places on the neck. A C major chord can be played as the open C, as an A-shape barre at fret 3, or an E-shape barre at fret 8. They sound slightly different but all contain C, E and G.
How do I tell what chord a shape is?
Work out the notes the shape plays (open strings and fretted notes), then find the root and the quality. For example x32010 plays C E G C E: that is C major. With practice you recognise the common shapes by sight.
Does the drill work for ukulele?
Yes. Choose the Ukulele focus. The ukulele has four strings tuned G C E A, and its chord diagrams read the same way.