Guitar chords · 312 chords

Guitar chords

Learn chords in this order, see how each one is built, then keep the chart below as your cheat sheet.

Learning path

Learn chords in this order

Start at level 1 and move on when the chords change cleanly. Each level adds one idea, and every chord links to its own page with more shapes.

1
Open major and minor
Eight chords cover thousands of songs. Each has three notes, and the 3rd decides major or minor.
- Major
- Minor
- C
- A
- G
- E
- D
- Am
- Em
- Dm
2
Seventh chords
Add one more note, the 7th, for a bluesy pull (7), a soft glow (maj7) or a mellow minor (m7).
- Dominant 7th
- Major 7th
- Minor 7th
- E7
- A7
- D7
- G7
- B7
- Am7
- Em7
- Dm7
- Cmaj7
- Fmaj7
3
Sus, 6 and add9 colours
Swap the 3rd for a 2nd or a 4th, or add a 6th or a 9th, for open, ringing colours.
- Suspended 2nd
- Suspended 4th
- Major 6th
- Add 9
- Dsus2
- Dsus4
- Asus2
- Asus4
- Esus4
- Cadd9
- Gadd9
- A6
4
Barre chords
One finger across the strings lets the open E and A shapes move up the neck, so they give you every .
- Major
- Minor
- F
- F♯m
- B♭
- Bm
- Cm
5
Extended chords: 9, 11, 13
Keep stacking 3rds. Six strings cannot hold every note, so keep the , the 3rd, the 7th and the top note, and drop the 5th first.
- Dominant 9th
- Minor 11th
- Dominant 13th
- E9
- A9
- E13
- Em9
- Am11
- Cmaj9
- Gmaj13

Chord ladder

How chords are built

Chords stack notes a 3rd apart: 1, 3, 5, then 7, 9, 11 and 13. Pick a family and a to see which notes each chord uses, and which ones it cannot do without.

1Root: the note the chord is named after. Keep it.
3Essential: makes the chord what it is. Never drop it.
5Optional: drop it first when you run out of fingers.
11Left out: players skip it because it clashes.

The 2nd, 4th and 6th share a letter with the 9th, 11th and 13th, so they sit in those columns: a sus2 and an add9 add the same note, one in place of the 3rd and one on top.

Notes of each chord, stacked in 3rds
Chord	1	3	5	7	9 (2)	11 (4)	13 (6)
C	C, root1	E, essential3	G, optional5	none	none	none	none
C6	C, root1	E, essential3	G, optional5	none	none	none	A, essential6
C6/9	C, root1	E, essential3	G, optional5	none	D, essential9	none	A, essential6
Cadd9	C, root1	E, essential3	G, optional5	none	D, essential9	none	none
Cmaj7	C, root1	E, essential3	G, optional5	B, essential7	none	none	none
Cmaj9	C, root1	E, essential3	G, optional5	B, essential7	D, essential9	none	none
Cmaj13	C, root1	E, essential3	G, optional5	B, essential7	D, optional9	F11, left out	A, essential13

Cheat sheet

Every chord, every root

All 312 chords, one family at a time. Each diagram is the easiest shape; tap it for the chord's page, its other shapes and the keys it belongs to.

Each is spelled the way guitarists usually write it, so the C♯ / D♭ row holds D♭ and C♯m, D♭maj7 and C♯m7. Every chord page names the other spelling too.

Chords in every key

Root	Major	Major 6th	Six-nine	Add 9	Major 7th	Major 9th	Major 13th
C	C	C6	C6/9	Cadd9	Cmaj7	Cmaj9	Cmaj13
C♯ / D♭	D♭	D♭6	D♭6/9	D♭add9	D♭maj7	D♭maj9	D♭maj13
D	D	D6	D6/9	Dadd9	Dmaj7	Dmaj9	Dmaj13
D♯ / E♭	E♭	E♭6	E♭6/9	E♭add9	E♭maj7	E♭maj9	E♭maj13
E	E	E6	E6/9	Eadd9	Emaj7	Emaj9	Emaj13
F	F	F6	F6/9	Fadd9	Fmaj7	Fmaj9	Fmaj13
F♯ / G♭	F♯	F♯6	F♯6/9	F♯add9	F♯maj7	F♯maj9	F♯maj13
G	G	G6	G6/9	Gadd9	Gmaj7	Gmaj9	Gmaj13
G♯ / A♭	A♭	A♭6	A♭6/9	A♭add9	A♭maj7	A♭maj9	A♭maj13
A	A	A6	A6/9	Aadd9	Amaj7	Amaj9	Amaj13
A♯ / B♭	B♭	B♭6	B♭6/9	B♭add9	B♭maj7	B♭maj9	B♭maj13
B	B	B6	B6/9	Badd9	Bmaj7	Bmaj9	Bmaj13

Root	Minor	Minor 6th	Minor add 9	Minor 7th	Minor major 7th	Minor 9th	Minor 11th
C	Cm	Cm6	Cm(add9)	Cm7	Cm(maj7)	Cm9	Cm11
C♯ / D♭	C♯m	C♯m6	C♯m(add9)	C♯m7	C♯m(maj7)	C♯m9	C♯m11
D	Dm	Dm6	Dm(add9)	Dm7	Dm(maj7)	Dm9	Dm11
D♯ / E♭	E♭m	E♭m6	E♭m(add9)	E♭m7	E♭m(maj7)	E♭m9	E♭m11
E	Em	Em6	Em(add9)	Em7	Em(maj7)	Em9	Em11
F	Fm	Fm6	Fm(add9)	Fm7	Fm(maj7)	Fm9	Fm11
F♯ / G♭	F♯m	F♯m6	F♯m(add9)	F♯m7	F♯m(maj7)	F♯m9	F♯m11
G	Gm	Gm6	Gm(add9)	Gm7	Gm(maj7)	Gm9	Gm11
G♯ / A♭	G♯m	G♯m6	G♯m(add9)	G♯m7	G♯m(maj7)	G♯m9	G♯m11
A	Am	Am6	Am(add9)	Am7	Am(maj7)	Am9	Am11
A♯ / B♭	B♭m	B♭m6	B♭m(add9)	B♭m7	B♭m(maj7)	B♭m9	B♭m11
B	Bm	Bm6	Bm(add9)	Bm7	Bm(maj7)	Bm9	Bm11

Root	Dominant 7th	Dominant 9th	Dominant 13th	Dominant 7th sharp 9th
C	C7	C9	C13	C7♯9
C♯ / D♭	D♭7	D♭9	D♭13	D♭7♯9
D	D7	D9	D13	D7♯9
D♯ / E♭	E♭7	E♭9	E♭13	E♭7♯9
E	E7	E9	E13	E7♯9
F	F7	F9	F13	F7♯9
F♯ / G♭	F♯7	F♯9	F♯13	F♯7♯9
G	G7	G9	G13	G7♯9
G♯ / A♭	A♭7	A♭9	A♭13	A♭7♯9
A	A7	A9	A13	A7♯9
A♯ / B♭	B♭7	B♭9	B♭13	B♭7♯9
B	B7	B9	B13	B7♯9

Root	Suspended 2nd	Suspended 4th	Dominant 7th suspended 4th	Power chord
C	Csus2	Csus4	C7sus4	C5
C♯ / D♭	D♭sus2	D♭sus4	D♭7sus4	D♭5
D	Dsus2	Dsus4	D7sus4	D5
D♯ / E♭	E♭sus2	E♭sus4	E♭7sus4	E♭5
E	Esus2	Esus4	E7sus4	E5
F	Fsus2	Fsus4	F7sus4	F5
F♯ / G♭	F♯sus2	F♯sus4	F♯7sus4	F♯5
G	Gsus2	Gsus4	G7sus4	G5
G♯ / A♭	A♭sus2	A♭sus4	A♭7sus4	A♭5
A	Asus2	Asus4	A7sus4	A5
A♯ / B♭	B♭sus2	B♭sus4	B♭7sus4	B♭5
B	Bsus2	Bsus4	B7sus4	B5

Root	Diminished	Half-diminished 7th	Diminished 7th	Augmented
C	C°	Cm7♭5	C°7	C+
C♯ / D♭	C♯°	C♯m7♭5	C♯°7	D♭+
D	D°	Dm7♭5	D°7	D+
D♯ / E♭	D♯°	D♯m7♭5	D♯°7	E♭+
E	E°	Em7♭5	E°7	E+
F	F°	Fm7♭5	F°7	F+
F♯ / G♭	F♯°	F♯m7♭5	F♯°7	G♭+
G	G°	Gm7♭5	G°7	G+
G♯ / A♭	G♯°	G♯m7♭5	G♯°7	A♭+
A	A°	Am7♭5	A°7	A+
A♯ / B♭	A♯°	A♯m7♭5	A♯°7	B♭+
B	B°	Bm7♭5	B°7	B+

Guitar chords

Learn chords in this order

Open major and minor

Seventh chords

Sus, 6 and add9 colours

Barre chords

Extended chords: 9, 11, 13

How chords are built

Every chord, every root

Major chords

Minor chords

Dominant chords

Suspended and power chords

Diminished and augmented chords