How to Play Guitar Chords

Getting Started

What Are Guitar Chord Diagrams?

How to read guitar chord diagrams to identify the strings and frets used to play all types of guitar chords.

11 Easy to Play Guitar Chords for Beginners

Basic guitar chords beginners can start playing right away.

Guitar Chord Forms

Triads: 3 Note Chords Jimi Hendrix Loved to Use in His Guitar Playing

A triad is a basic 3 note chord form used to play major and minor chords.

Power Chords You Can Play Anywhere on the Guitar

These power chord shapes can be played anywhere on the guitar neck and are used in a wide variety of music including Rock, Metal, and Pop Punk.

Open Chords Every Guitarist Should Know

An open chord is played using one or more guitar strings played open without being fretted.

Barre Chords: Movable Guitar Chords for Many Chord Voicings

Barre chords are played using a finger to hold down multiple strings at the same time and allow many different chord voicings to be played.

Chord Voicings

6th Chords

6th chords are formed using a major or minor triad and adds the 6th note of the root note's scale. 6th chords are used in jazz and pop music.

7th Chords

7th guitar chords are frequently in jazz and blues. These guitar chords use the flat 7th or 7th note from the major scale.

9th Chords

9th chords are formed from a minor or major triad adding the 9th note of the scale.

Keys and Progressions

Major & Minor Guitar Chord Keys

A chord key is a group or family of chords that sound good together and are based on a major or minor scale. Chords within the same key are played together in different chord progressions in songs.

Chord Progressions Used in 1,000's of Popular Songs

A chord progression is a pattern of chords, belonging to the same key, played to create the structure of a song.

Chord Charts by Root Note

Guitar Chord Finder

 
Find a Guitar Chord