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How to Read Guitar Chords
To read a guitar chord chart, follow the string lines, locate the frets, place the numbered fingers, and check X for strings to skip and O for strings to leave open. Start with the C major diagram below.
This guide expands the chart-reading section from Guitar Chords for Beginners. The original diagram and example are kept together here.
How to Read a Guitar Chord Chart
Read the vertical lines from low E on the left to high E on the right. A dot sits in the fret space where you press. Its number tells you which finger to use; it is not a fret number.
- Find the X over low E: skip string 6.
- Place finger 3 on A at fret 3, finger 2 on D at fret 2, and finger 1 on B at fret 1.
- Leave G and high E open. Pick A, D, G, B, high E individually, then strum those same five strings.
For this C shape, five strings are the complete intended strum. Do not add the low E as a later step.
Reading conventions: Fender: reading chord charts. Fingering: Fender: open C chord.
How to read chord diagrams: strings, frets and fingers
How do I read guitar chords when there are numbers?
Finger numbers tell you which finger to use: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky. Fret numbers tell you where to press along the neck. In our C example, finger 1 presses fret 1 on B, while finger 2 presses fret 2 on D; those matching numbers are a coincidence, not a rule.
| Mark | Read it as |
|---|---|
| X | Do not sound this string. |
| O | Play this string open, without fretting it. |
| Number inside a dot | A finger number on these lesson charts. |
| Fret number | A position on the neck, not a finger. |
Basis: Fender's diagram labels. The homepage tool uses unnumbered dots for fret locations; its diagrams do not assign fingers.
Guitar chord symbols: how to read chords by name
The letter gives the root; the rest describes the chord. C alone means C major. A symbol describes notes, while a diagram supplies a way to place them on strings. See Open Music Theory: chord symbols.
Guitar chord abbreviations: maj, m, sus and more
| Symbol | Meaning and notes |
|---|---|
| maj | Major; Cmaj7 is major seventh: C, E, G, B. |
| m | Minor; Cm: C, E♭, G. |
| sus / sus4 | Replace the third with the fourth; Csus4: C, F, G. |
| sus2 | Replace the third with the second; Csus2: C, D, G. |
| add9 | Add the ninth without a seventh; Cadd9: C, E, G, D. |
| dim | Diminished triad; Cdim: C, E♭, G♭. |
| aug | Augmented triad; Caug: C, E, G♯. |
| 7 | Dominant seventh; C7: C, E, G, B♭. |
C7 and Cmaj7 have different sevenths: B♭ and B respectively. A bare 7 does not mean “major seventh.” Basis: Open Music Theory: chord symbols and triad qualities.
Open chords, barre chords and movable shapes
- Open: a shape includes one or more sounding open strings, as the C example does.
- Barre: one finger frets more than one string. The term describes a fingering technique.
- Movable: a shape can shift along the neck to produce another chord. A barre shape using only fretted notes can move as a unit.
These are overlapping descriptions, not three separate chord qualities. Moving your hand does not move the pitch of a string you leave open, so an open shape cannot simply be shifted unchanged and assumed to transpose every note.
Basis: Fender: open and barre chords, Fender: movable barre shapes, and Fender: strings and pitch.
How do you read guitar chords you have already fingered?
Enter the shape in the Guitar Chord Finder to check it against the site's chord dictionary:
- Choose Identify on fretboard, then Clear all.
- For the C example, leave string 6 muted; select string 5 fret 3, string 4 fret 2, string 3 fret 0, string 2 fret 1 and string 1 fret 0.
- Read the exact matches and press Hear chord to hear the selected notes.
These are fret numbers, not the finger numbers printed inside the lesson diagram. The tool compares the selected notes; it does not listen to your guitar or infer a missing note.
How to read guitar chord charts: next steps
Keep this reading guide alongside the eight beginner shapes. Check a shape on the homepage, inspect keyboard notes in Piano Chord Finder, explore Guitar Scales, or arrange chords with the Chord Progression Generator.