How To Read A Guitar Chord?

Learning to read guitar chords is an essential skill for any musician. In this post, I will show you how to read guitar chord, including some extra tips for reading chord charts. If you are new to guitar and wondering what all those weird symbols are on your fretboard, or if you have been playing for a while but want to learn more about the theory behind it, this lesson is for you. 

First, let’s look at how chords are written on a chart. Chord charts are simplified diagrams of the frets that make up each chord shape. There are four main types of chords: major, minor, diminished and augmented. Each has its symbol that represents the root note of the chord. 

To make things easier, when looking at a chord chart, we will only use roman numerals (I–IV–V–vi) instead of writing out every possible combination of numbers and letters (e.g., 1m7). Use uppercase letters for major chords and lowercase letters for minor chords, making it easier to distinguish between them in written form. Now let’s take a look at each type of chord in more detail. 

How To Read Guitar Chord Chart?

Learning how to read guitar chord charts is a skill that every guitarist should have. A chord chart visual represents the guitar fingerboard, showing what fingers should be used to form a chord. Chord charts are typically used by musicians who play by ear. Learning how to read these charts can be a huge help when learning new songs on your own or when you want to learn how to play with other musicians.

• Your first step in learning how to read guitar chord charts is understanding how the chart works.
• The first thing you will notice is that there are six lines (strings) on your guitar neck instead of 5, like most other instruments have.
• These extra lines are not strings but represent areas where your fingers will “land” when playing certain chords. It is easier for a musician playing by ear because they do not have to worry about which string they are playing on.

• Next, you will see numbers on the left side of each box, along with letters on the right side of each box representing different chords that you can form with those notes in that position.
• When you have multiple notes stacked up on top of each other, this tells you that they should be played together simultaneously (for example, G major 7th).
• If there is only one note in a box, then it means that this is the root note and should be played by itself.

The chords are sorted from lowest to highest, which means that if you want to play a chord in the key of C major (or any other key), all you have to do is find the first chord in the column for C major and then follow down until you reach the number that corresponds with your desired finger position on your fretboard.

Read: What are Modes in Guitar

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do you read a guitar key?

The notes on the fretboard are called “keys” because they look like keys laid out in a row. There are 12 keys total on the guitar, from low E to high E, and each key has 7 frets numbered from 1 to 12, with the highest number being closest to the headstock (where the tuning pegs are located). 

If we wanted to play a C major chord on any string (low E or high E), we would play frets 3-5 together on that string. It may not seem very clear at first, but once you start to get used to it, it will become second nature quickly. Keep practicing until you can visualize what key each chord is being played in without looking at your hand.

What do numbers under guitar chords mean?

The numbers under the guitar chords are the fingerings. They show the fingers of your left hand that you should be using to play a chord. For example, if you see a chord like this:

G7 (1) (2) (3)

The numbers 1, 2, and 3 under the chord tell you what fingers to use on each string. The first finger is on the G string, the second finger is on the B string, and the third finger is on the D string.

How do you read guitar chord notation?

There are several ways to read guitar chord notation, but all of them are based on the same principle: The first string is considered the root note. For example, if you have a G chord (G major), you play all of the notes on the second fret. If you want to play an F#m7(b5) chord, you play all of the notes on the fourth fret.

Music theory dictates that if you are playing a major triad in the first inversion, then you are playing a root position minor triad. In other words, if you are looking at the top three strings and the third string is your root note, then all of your other notes are going to be higher up on the fretboard because they are going to be inversions of whatever chord it is you are playing.

Final Words

The reason chord charts are written using Roman numerals instead of numbers and letters is. Moreover, there are many more different combinations that can be made if every possible number and letter is used. I hope this article has helped clear up any confusion regarding how to read a guitar chord chart. Playing guitar can be challenging, especially when figuring out all the different symbols, but it is fun. Enjoy your journey, and keep on playing.