Guitar Chord Chart for Beginners: 34 Essential Chords in One Place

In this guide

1. How to read a chord chart
2. The 8 essential open chords
3. Seventh chords
4. Sus and add chords
5. The F chord and its easier versions
6. Barre chords
7. Power chords
8. Which chords should you learn first?
9. Common chord progressions
10. Chords that belong together: chord families by key
11. How to memorize chord shapes
12. Common chord chart mistakes
13. Tips for learning chords faster
14. Using a capo with this chart
15. Keep this chart handy
16. Frequently asked questions

A good chord chart is one of the most useful things a guitarist can have. Whether you are learning your first song or looking up a chord you saw on a lyric sheet, you need the shape fast and you need it to be right.

This chart collects 34 chords that cover the vast majority of songs you'll want to play, grouped by type, with notes on which to learn first. Bookmark it, or keep it open while you practice.

How to read a chord chart

Every diagram below is a picture of the guitar neck standing upright, as if the guitar were facing you.

• Vertical lines are the six strings: low E on the left, then A, D, G, B and high E on the right.
• Horizontal lines are the frets. The thick line at the top is the nut.
• Dots show where to press. The number inside is the finger: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky.
• O above a string means play it open. × means don't play it.
• A long bar means one finger presses several strings (a barre).
• "3fr" on the left means the diagram starts at the 3rd fret instead of the nut.

Before you play any chord, tune up. A correctly fingered chord still sounds wrong on an out-of-tune guitar. Our free online guitar tuner takes about a minute.

The 8 essential open chords

Start here. These open chords are the foundation of folk, pop, country and rock guitar, and with them you can play hundreds of songs.

Chord	Strings to strum	Tip
Em	All six	Two fingers; the easiest full chord
Am	Top five (from A)	Same shape as Em, moved over a string, plus one finger
C	Top five	Index and middle stay put when changing to Am
G	All six	Big, full sound; three- or four-finger versions both work
D	Top four (from D)	Aim your strum; the low strings make it muddy
E	All six	Em plus one finger
A	Top five	Three fingers on the 2nd fret; angle them to fit
Dm	Top four	Darker cousin of D; great in folk and pop

Our step-by-step guide to guitar chords for beginners covers these in detail, including the best order to learn them and a ten-minute practice routine.

Seventh chords

Seventh chords add a little tension and color. The dominant sevenths (E7, A7, D7, G7, C7, B7) are everywhere in blues, country and folk. Minor sevenths (Am7, Em7, Dm7) sound smoother and appear constantly in pop and soul.

Learn first: E7 and A7, which are easy variations of shapes you know, then B7, which you'll need for songs in E and for a twelve-bar blues in E.

Sus and add chords

Suspended ("sus") and "add" chords replace or add a note to a basic chord. They create movement and that shimmering acoustic sound you hear in lots of modern pop and worship music. Many are one finger away from a chord you know.

• Dsus2 and Dsus4: play D, then lift or add a finger on the high E string. Alternating D, Dsus4, D, Dsus2 is a classic acoustic flourish.
• Asus2 and Asus4: the same trick with A on the B string.
• Cadd9: a popular substitute for C, especially in songs that move between G and C, because two fingers stay in the same place.

The F chord and its easier versions

F is the chord most beginners struggle with. These versions let you play it before you have a full barre.

See our full guide on how to play the F chord for a seven-day plan and fixes for buzzing strings.

Barre chords

Barre chords use one finger across several strings so the shape can move anywhere on the neck. These are the most common ones you'll meet in songs.

Every barre chord comes from two shapes, based on E and A. Learn those and you can play any major or minor chord. Our guide to barre chords for beginners explains how, with a three-week practice plan.

Power chords

Power chords are two- or three-note shapes used everywhere in rock, punk and metal. They're neither major nor minor, which makes them very flexible.

Learn more in our guide to power chords, including palm muting and five progressions to practice.

Which chords should you learn first?

Here's a sensible order that builds each new chord on what you already know:

1. Weeks 1 to 2: Em, Am, C, G
2. Weeks 3 to 4: D, E, A, Dm
3. Weeks 5 to 6: E7, A7, Fmaj7 or small F, Cadd9
4. Weeks 7 to 8: B7, Dsus2, Dsus4, Am7, Em7
5. Month 3 onward: power chords, then barre chords: F, Bm, and the movable E and A shapes

This timeline assumes about 15 to 30 minutes of practice on most days. Go at your own pace; clean chords matter far more than speed.

Common chord progressions

Chords are only useful when you can change between them. These progressions appear in thousands of songs:

Progression	Chords	Style
I–V–vi–IV in C	C, G, Am, F	Pop
I–V–vi–IV in G	G, D, Em, C	Pop, acoustic
I–IV–V in G	G, C, D	Folk, country, rock
I–IV–V in A	A, D, E	Blues, rock and roll
12-bar blues in E	E7, A7, B7	Blues
vi–IV–I–V in G	Em, C, G, D	Pop, rock
ii–V–I in C	Dm7, G7, C	Jazz, soul

Practice each progression with four slow downstrokes per chord, then add a strumming pattern. Our list of easy guitar songs for beginners shows which songs use which progressions.

Chords that belong together: chord families by key

Songs are usually built from a small family of chords that belong to one key. If you know the family, you can often guess the chords of a song just from its first few. Here are the most guitar-friendly keys:

Key	Main chords	Also common
G major	G, C, D	Em, Am, D7
C major	C, F, G	Am, Dm, G7
D major	D, G, A	Bm, Em, A7
A major	A, D, E	F♯m, Bm, E7
E major	E, A, B7	C♯m, F♯m
A minor	Am, Dm, E	C, F, G
E minor	Em, Am, B7	G, C, D

Notice how often G, C, D, Em and Am show up. That's why they're the first chords most guitarists learn, and why keys like G, C and D are so popular on guitar. If a song is in a key with awkward chords, a capo lets you use these easy shapes and still play in the original key.

How to memorize chord shapes

Looking up a chord is fine at first, but you'll play much more smoothly once the shapes live in your hands. A few techniques help:

• Learn shapes by their relationships. E and Em differ by one finger, as do A and Am, and D and Dm. Am and C share two fingers. Seeing these connections means you're learning patterns, not dozens of separate shapes.
• Say the name as you play it. Naming each chord aloud links the sound, the shape and the name.
• Close your eyes. Form a chord without looking, open your eyes and check it. Repeat until you're right every time.
• Little and often. Five minutes of chord work spread through the day beats one long session. Your hands remember shapes surprisingly quickly with frequent short practice.
• Use songs. A chord you've played in a song you love is far easier to remember than one you only drilled.

Common chord chart mistakes

• Reading the chart sideways. Some charts online are drawn horizontally, like tab. Check which side is the low E string before you start.
• Ignoring the X marks. Strumming a string marked × is the most common reason chords like D and C sound muddy.
• Using the wrong fingers. The suggested fingering usually makes the next chord change easier. It's worth following, especially for G, C and D.
• Missing the fret number. A "3fr" or "5fr" label means the shape starts higher up the neck, not at the nut.

Tips for learning chords faster

• Ring test every new chord. Pick each string one at a time to find any buzzing or dead notes.
• Practice changes, not just shapes. One-minute changes between two chords, counted and logged daily, are the fastest way to improve.
• Look for anchor fingers. Fingers that stay in place between two chords make changes much quicker.
• Keep the strum going. If a change isn't ready, strum the open strings and catch up. Never stop the rhythm.
• Use the easy version first. Fmaj7 for F, a three-finger G, small B minor. You can upgrade later.

Using a capo with this chart

A capo is a clamp that presses all six strings down at one fret, effectively moving the nut. With a capo, every open chord shape on this chart stays exactly the same, but it sounds higher.

That's useful in two ways. First, it lets you play a song in the original key using easy shapes. If a song is in A flat, which is awkward on guitar, you can put a capo on the 1st fret and play G-family shapes instead. Second, it lets you move a song into a key that suits your voice without learning new chords.

When a chord sheet says "Capo 3," place the capo on the 3rd fret and play the chord shapes as written. The names on the sheet refer to the shapes, not the sounding pitch, which keeps everything simple. A basic capo costs around $10 to $25 and is one of the best value accessories a beginner can buy.

Keep this chart handy

Bookmark this page for quick reference. For each chord's full step-by-step instructions, the notes it contains and a sound you can play, see our interactive chord library.

And if you would like someone to tell you which chord to learn next and check that you've really got it, Fretwork's free stages do exactly that: one chord at a time, with ring tests and timed changes, and no card required.

Frequently asked questions