How do I read a guitar chord diagram?

Follow these practical steps to correctly read a chord diagram and make sure your fingers are on the right notes.

1. Orient the grid. The horizontal lines are the six strings on your guitar, with low E at the bottom and high E at the top. The vertical lines are frets running left to right starting at the nut if the left line is thicker or further up the neck if there is a fret number indicated (5fr = 5th fret).

   Read each fret between 2 vertical fret lines. So between the nut and the next vertical fret line to the right is fret 1. In the G chord diagram below, the lowest fret where your fingers would go is on the 2nd fret.

   GFull

2. Check for X's and O's next to each string. These sit at the left edge of the grid and tell you how to play strings that don't have a finger pressed down. An "X" means don't play that open string at all. An "O" means play it open so it rings out with the other notes of the chord.

3. Place your fingers on the dots. Each dot marks where to press a string down at a specific fret. And each dot has a number inside it that tells you which finger to place there. Here's what each number means:

   • 1 for index
   • 2 for middle
   • 3 for ring
   • 4 for pinky

   Following the G chord diagram, place your fingers like this:

   • your second finger on the low E string 3rd fret
   • your first finger on the A string 2nd fret
   • play both the D and G strings open
   • place your third finger on the B string 3rd fret
   • and your fourth finger on the high e string 3rd fret

Common mix-ups

Mixing up the string order. If a diagram seems to make your hand twist unnaturally, double check you are following along with the low E string as the bottom line of the diagram and the lowest fret is on the left side.

Confusing the nut with a fret line. The thick vertical line at the left edge of most diagrams is the nut (basically fret 0). If a chord is played higher up the neck, the diagram will show a fret number underneath, telling you where the diagram actually starts on the fretboard.

Skipping the X's. A string marked with an "X" needs to be muted. Letting it ring by accident is one of the most common reasons a chord sounds off even when the fingers are placed correctly. A perfect example is this F# chord diagram that shows the low E and A strings should be muted. If you were to accidently play them, you would be playing E and A notes to a chord that should only have F#, A#, and C#.

Related glossary terms

• What are guitar chord diagrams? - the basics of what a diagram represents
• Fret - what the vertical lines on a diagram represent
• Nut - what the thick left-edge line on most diagrams represents
• Open string - what the "O" symbol on a diagram means
• Chord voicing - describes how the notes of a chord are arranged