Who this is for
Guitar and ukulele players who can copy chord shapes but do not know why they work or how to name an unfamiliar one. You should know the fretboard notes (the Fretboard program) and what a triad is. Already fluent? Test out on Day 5.
Best done after: The Fretboard, Triads & Inversions, Chord Symbols & Lead Sheets. It is advice, not a rule: every lesson has short "rusty on…?" boxes for anything you skipped.
Why learn this
Most players learn chords as pictures: put the fingers here and it sounds like a song. That works until you meet a shape you do not know, or a chord symbol you have never played. Then you need to know what a chord is made of and where those notes live on the neck.
This program connects the three things you already know: chord symbols (what the chart says), triads and sevenths (the notes) and the fretboard (where the notes are). By the end you can read any shape and work out any chord.
What you will be able to do
- How to read a chord diagram
- Open chord shapes
- Naming a shape from the notes it plays
- Movable barre chords: the E shape and the A shape
- Seventh, suspended and add9 shapes
- The same ideas on ukulele
The 5-day plan
- Reading a chord diagram. Read a chord diagram and say which strings sound and where the fingers go.
- Open chords: naming from the notes. Work out the name of an open shape from the notes it plays.
- Barre chords: one shape, every root. Use the E shape and the A shape as movable barre chords, and find any chord by its root.
- Sevenths, suspended and add9. Recognise seventh, suspended and add9 shapes and see how they differ from the plain chord.
- Ukulele and test day. Read ukulele chord shapes and prove you can name guitar shapes.
How each session works
Every day follows the shape of a workout. It starts with a warm-up that reviews earlier days, then technique: a short, plain explanation with a small interactive tool to try it on. Then come the working sets, drills with instant feedback, and a finisher, a short test with a pass mark so you only build on things you can do. A cool-down recaps the day and previews the next.
Choose your split
The daily split is a session a day: done in a week. The easy split is a session every other day, with rest days between: two weeks, and a gentler pace. On your own pace there is no schedule. Nothing is ever locked, and you can change split at any time.
What comes next
Intervals and Chords on the Staff: The 5-Day Program. See the whole training plan.
Frequently asked questions
How many chord shapes do I need to know?
A dozen open shapes (C, A, G, E, D, Am, Em, Dm and a few sevenths) cover most songs, plus the two barre shapes that move up the neck. This program teaches how they are built so you can work out the rest.
Why do chord diagrams show strings vertically?
A chord diagram shows the neck as if the guitar stood upright and you looked at it head-on: strings run up and down (the thickest on the left), frets run across. It is a convention that every chord chart shares.
What is the difference between an open chord and a barre chord?
An open chord uses open (unpressed) strings, so it lives near the nut. A barre chord has no open strings: one finger presses all the strings at one fret, acting as a movable nut, so the shape can slide up the neck to any root.
Does this work for ukulele?
Yes. The same ideas apply on four strings tuned G C E A. Day 5 covers ukulele shapes, and the drill has a Ukulele focus.