What are guitar chord diagrams?

A chord diagram is a small grid showing where to place your fingers to play a specific chord voicing. It mirrors the guitar fretboard, with the horizontal lines representing the six strings and the vertical lines representing frets.

Strings are stacked from low E at the bottom to high E at the top. This is the same order you would see if you held the guitar out in front of you with the strings facing you (if you are playing right handed). It's the same as placing your guitar strings-up on your lap and then look down. Frets run left to right. Dots with numbers on the grid show where to press down each finger.

Here's how chord diagrams look on Worship Guitar Academy:

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See How do I read a guitar chord diagram? for a step by step walkthrough of the symbols and layout.

How it's used

Chord diagrams are used to show you a specific chord shape: songbooks, apps, video overlays, and every page that shows a chord diagram on this site. A chord chart or lead sheet tells you which chords to play and when. A chord diagram tells you exactly how to place your fingers to play a specific chord voicing.

What is a chord chart?What is a chord transition?