Chords

Chords — and what's inside them

A chord is three or more notes played together. A major chord is the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of its major scale. Know the notes and you can build any chord yourself.

How to read: vertical lines are strings (low E on the left), numbers are fingers, ○ = play open, × = don't play.

Open chords

C
×321

Notes: C E G

G
213

Notes: G B D

D
××132

Notes: D F# A

A
×123

Notes: A C# E

E
231

Notes: E G# B

Am
×231

Notes: A C E

Em
23

Notes: E G B

Dm
××231

Notes: D F A

Barre & color chords

F
134211

Notes: F A C

Bm
×13421

Notes: B D F#

G7
321

Notes: G B D F

Cmaj7
×32

Notes: C E G B

Progressions to practice

  • G – C – D (I–IV–V): the backbone of rock, folk and country.
  • C – G – Am – F (I–V–vi–IV): countless pop songs use this.
  • Am – Dm – E (i–iv–V): a classic minor sound.