How To Read Guitar Chords
How to read guitar chords.
Guitar chords can be represented in standard musical notation but that's probably not what you're looking for. An easier method to 'write them down' is a chord diagram.
The general idea of a chord diagram is to show you where to put your fingers on the fretboard and what strings to play. It does this by resembling the fretboard and strings. A symbol shows you were to put your fingers. Most of the time this symbol is a filled circle.
A number indicating which finger to use can be inserted in that circle.
1 = index finger
2 = middle finger
3 = ring finger
4 = little finger
The o's and x's at the nut are telling you to play an open string (o) or not to play that string at all (x).
Take a look at our downloadable guitar chords chart.
Some examples:
You can also write down chords on a guitar tab.
The chords E, F, & G:
e|---0---1---3---
B|---0---1---0---
G|---1---2---0---
D|---2---3---0---
A|---2---3---2---
E|---0---1---3---
E F G
|
The (tab) example on the left shows you how to play the E,F or G chord. The numbers do not tell you which finger to use but where to put your fingers.
1 = first fret, 2 = second fret, etc... |
But as already said on
the guitar tabs page learning chords on a guitar tab is not a good idea!
