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Guitar Chords
Six strings, countless possibilities.
A guitar can produce an enormous range of moods and tones, from simple, upbeat
major chords to eerie, mournful diminished sevenths and everything in between.
This guide compiles all the chords youll ever need in one place, with:
Instructions on how to read chord charts
A breakdown of the major families of chords and their characteristic sounds
Complete chord charts for more than 350 different guitar chords
Hobbies & Leisure
Open-Position Chords
An open-position chord is any chord with one or more
strings played open (not fretted). Open chords are the easi-
est chords for beginning guitarists to master.
Guitar Chord Basics
This guide contains the essential major and minor guitar
chords that form the foundation of nearly all rock, pop, and
country songs, as well as the more complex types of chords
used most often in playing blues and jazz guitar.
Whats a Chord?
A chord is a combination of three or more different musi-
cal notes played at the same time. Chords are played on a
guitar by strumming or plucking three or more strings at
once while fretting those strings (pressing them against the
fretboard at certain frets). Since the guitar has six strings,
the maximum number of notes in a guitar chord is six.
Reading Chord Charts
Visual depictions of guitar chords are called chord charts,
chord maps, or chord diagrams. Heres how to read them.
Vertical lines:
Represent
the guitars
six strings,
with the low
E string on
the left side
and high E on
the right.
Horizontal lines:
Represent frets,
except for the top line, which usually represents the
nut (the point at which the guitars headstock meets
the neck) but in some cases may represent a fret. If
the top line represents a fret, the fret position is noted
with a roman numeral to the right of the diagram. For
example, VI means that the chord should be played
at the sixth fret.
Black dot on a vertical line: Indicates where the
string should be fretted.
X above a vertical line: Means that the marked
string should not be played when sounding the chord.
O above a vertical line: Means that the marked
string should be played open (without being fretted).
When this O is red, that indicates that the open string
is also the root note of the chord.
Red dot on a vertical line: Indicates the chords
root note(s). The root of an A major chord is an A, for
example. An A will occur at least once (or more than
once) in a chord whose root is A.
Barre Chords
When playing barre (or bar) chords, the 1st nger (index
nger) is used like a bar to fret multiple strings at once.
A barre is indicated in a chord diagram with a long hori-
zontal curve. Barre chords are moveable, meaning that
they can be moved up and down the neck just by shifting
the barre from fret to fret. A G barre chord at the 3rd
fret becomes a G# chord when shifted up by one fret.
Barre chords come in two forms: E-form (based on the
open-position E chord) and A-form (based on the open-
position A chord).
E-form Barre Chords
play this string open
dont play
these strings
6th string
(low E)
strings (6)
1st string
(high E)
1st fret
fretted note
(1st string,
2nd fret)
root note
(2nd string,
3rd fret)
{
{
frets
A7 Amaj7 Amaj
Amin7
C7
D7
Dmin E7
Dmaj7
Dmaj
Cmaj7
Cmaj
Amin B7
Bmaj7
Fmaj Fmin
F7 Fmin7
Emaj Emin7
Emin G7 Gmaj
Emaj7
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Photo Credits: Page 1: CD 36, Music, Stockbyte.
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Guitar Chords
A-form Barre Chords
Power Chords
Power chords are used most often in rock music due to
the full blast of sound they produce when played on an
electric guitar with distortion. There are two types: E-form
(based on the E-form barre chord) and A-form (based on the
A-form barre chord).
Major Chords
Major chords are bright, full-sounding chords used in every
type of music, from heavy metal to classical.
Minor Chords
Minor chords are darker, melancholy-sounding chords.
Many pop and rock songs are written with chord progres-
sions (series of chords) that include major and minor chords
exclusively.
6th Chords
There are three main types of 6th chords: the six (pro-
nounced six, not sixth, as in A six), minor six, and
six-nine.
6 (Six)
min6 (Minor Six)
Bmin B7
Bmin7 Bmaj
F B
Amaj A#maj Bmaj
Cmaj C#maj Dmaj
D#maj Emaj Fmaj
F#maj Gmaj G#maj
Amin
Cmin
D#min
F#min Gmin G#min
Emin Fmin
C#min Dmin
A#min Bmin
A6
C6
D#6
F#6 G6 G#6
E6 F6
C#6 D6
A#6 B6
Amin6
Cmin6 C#min6 Dmin6
A#min6 Bmin6
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min-Maj7 (Minor-Major Seventh)
Chromatic Alterations
Chromatic alterations are chords with dissonant intervals;
these chords are used most often in jazz. They include 7 at
ve, 7 sharp ve, and minor 7 at ve.
7b5 (Seven Flat Five)
6/9 (Six-Nine)
7th Chords
There are four main types of 7th chords: the 7th (also called the
dominant 7th), major 7th, minor 7th, and minor-major 7th.
7th (Dominant Seventh)
Maj7 (Major Seventh)
min7 (Minor Seventh)
D#min6
F#min6 Gmin6 G#min6
Emin6 Fmin6
A6/9
C6/9
D#6/9 E6/9 F6/9
C#6/9 D6/9
A#6/9 B6/9
F#6/9 G6/9 G#6/9
A7 A#7 B7
C7 C#7 D7
D#7
F#7 G7 G#7
E7 F7
Amaj7
Cmaj7
D#maj7 Emaj7 Fmaj7
C#maj7 Dmaj7
A#maj7 Bmaj7
F#maj7 Gmaj7 G#maj7
Amin7
Cmin7 C#min7 Dmin7
Bmin7 A#min7
D#min7 Emin7 Fmin7
F#min7 Gmin7 G#min7
Amin-maj7
Cmin-maj7
D#min-maj7 Emin-maj7
C#min-maj7 Dmin-maj7
A#min-maj7 Bmin-maj7
F#min-maj7 Gmin-maj7 G#min-maj7
Fmin-maj7
A7b5 A#7b5 B7b5
C7b5 C#7b5 D7b5
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Extended Chords
The three main types of extended chords are 9s, 11s, and
13s. Extended chords have an unresolved, somewhat dis-
sonant sound and are used most often in jazz and blues
guitar music.
9 (Nine)
Maj9 (Major Nine)
7#5 (Seven Sharp Five)
min7b5 (Minor Seven Flat Five)
min9 (Minor Nine)
9b5 (Nine Flat Five)
D#7b5 E7b5 F7b5
F#7b5 G7b5 G#7b5
A7#5 A#7#5 B7#5
C7#5 C#7#5 D7#5
D#7#5 E7#5 F7#5
F#7#5 G7#5 G#7#5
Amin7b5
Amin7b5
Bmin7b5
Cmin7b5 C#min7b5 Dmin7b5
A#min7b5
D#min7b5 Emin7b5 Fmin7b5
F#min7b5 Gmin7b5 G#min7b5
A#9 B9
C9 C#9
D#9 E9 F9
F#9 G9 G#9
A9
D9
Amaj9 A#maj9
Cmaj9 C#maj9 Dmaj9
Bmaj9
D#maj9 Emaj9 Fmaj9
Gmaj9 G#maj9 F#maj9
A#min9 Bmin9
Cmin9
D#min9 Emin9 Fmin9
C#min9 Dmin9
F#min9 Gmin9 G#min9
Amin9
A9b5 A#9b5 B9b5
C9b5 C#9b5 D9b5
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9#5 (Nine Sharp Five)
11 (Eleven)
Maj11 (Major Eleven)
min11 (Minor Eleven)
13 (Thirteen)
Maj13 (Major Thirteen)
D#9b5 E9b5 F9b5
F#9b5 G9b5 G#9b5
A9#5 A#9#5 B9#5
C9#5 C#9#5 D9#5
D#9#5 E9#5 F9#5
F#9#5 G9#5 G#9#5
Amin11 A#min11 Bmin11
Cmin11 C#min11 Dmin11
D#min11 Emin11 Fmin11
A#11 A11 B11
C11 C#11 D11
D#11 E11 F11
F#11 G11 G#11
Cmaj11 C#maj11 Dmaj11
D#maj11 Fmaj11
F#maj11 Gmaj11 G#maj11
Amaj11 Bmaj11 A#maj11
Emaj11
F#min11 Gmin11 G#min11
A13 A#13 B13
C13 C#13 D13
D#13 E13 F13
F#13 G13 G#13
Amaj13 A#maj13 Bmaj13
Cmaj13 C#maj13 Dmaj13
D#maj13 Emaj13 Fmaj13
F#maj13 Gmaj13 G#maj13
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Guitar Chords
min13 (Minor Thirteen)
Diminished Seventh Chords
Diminished seventh chords have an eerie, ominous, unre-
solved sound. Theyre used most often in jazz, blues, and
classical guitar music.
Suspended Chords
Suspended chords are also known as sus chords. They
have a bright sound, much like major chords, and are used
in all styles of music, especially pop, rock, and folk.
Sus2 (Suspended Two)
Sus4 (Suspended Four)
Added Tone Chords
Added tone chords have an unresolved sound. Theyre
popular in jazz and blues guitar music and also (though
somewhat less frequently) in rock and folk guitar music.
add9 (Add Nine)
minadd9 (Minor Add Nine)
Adim7 A#dim7 Bdim7
Cdim7 C#dim7 Ddim7
D#dim7 Edim7 Fdim7
F#dim7 Gdim7 G#dim7
Asus2 A#sus2 Bsus2
Csus2 C#sus2 Dsus2
D#sus2 Esus2 Fsus2
F#sus2 Gsus2 G#sus2
Amin13 A#min13 Bmin13
Cmin13 C#min13 Dmin13
D#min13 Emin13 Fmin13
F#min13 Gmin13 G#min13
Asus4 A#sus4 Bsus4
Csus4 C#sus4 Dsus4
D#sus4 Esus4 Fsus4
F#sus4 G#sus4 Gsus4
Aminadd9 A#minadd9 Bminadd9
Cminadd9 C#minadd9 Dminadd9
D#minadd9 Eminadd9 Fminadd9
F#minadd9 Gminadd9 G#minadd9
Aadd9 A#add9 Badd9
Cadd9 C#add9 Dadd9
D#add9 Eadd9 Fadd9
F#add9 Gadd9 G#add9