Chord Charts

What are they?

A chord chart is used to show guitarists where to put their fingers on the guitar neck in order to play a chord. They are typically used by beginner guitarists before they memorise all of the chords.

The vertical lines shows the guitar neck, and the horizontal lines shows the frets. The solid black dots shows the guitarists where to place their fingers. Above the diagram, there are Xs and Os. The X means that you do not play the string, and the O means that you play it open, holding no frets down. The numbers along the bottom tell the guitarist which fingers to use.

Here is the first part of happy birthday, written for guitar. At the start of some bars there are chord symbols above beat 1. In the first full bar on the note of birth-day. There is a G chord at the top. To play a G chord you play the third fret on the first string, the second frey on the second string, the third, forth and fifth string you play open and finally you will play the sixth string holding down the third fret.

Can you work out how to play the next chord?

Chord charts can also be shown at the top of the page, and then the chord name are above most bars.

Why are they useful?

Chord charts are useful tools for beginner guitarists because they provide a visual guide to where fingers should be placed on the fretboard, making it easier to start playing songs without the need to memorize every chord immediately. For many beginners, learning all the chords at once can feel overwhelming, and chord charts simplify this process by offering a quick reference that allows players to begin playing right away. However, it is still beneficial for guitarists to learn all the chords.

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