Guitar Chord Charts 11 Easy Tips to Read Fingering Charts on Acoustic Guitars

Guitar Chord Charts 11 Easy Tips to Read Fingering Charts on Acoustic Guitars Suzy S. While its true that you dont need to read music to play the guitar, you should learn how to  read guitar chord charts. A guitar chord chart is a visual representation of a chord. This helpful visual is a little like music-by-numbers; it tells you which finger goes where  and on what string, so in case you come across a chord you dont know, youll  be able to play it. Heres an example of a guitar chord chart, also known as a guitar chord diagram: Guitar chord charts are a cinch to read once  you learn what all the lines, numbers, and circles mean. Are you ready to start learning how to play songs on the guitar? Here are 11 things you  need to read guitar fingering charts. 11 Tips for Reading a Guitar Chord Chart Visualization The grid of six vertical and five horizontal lines represents the  guitar fretboard. If youre having trouble understanding the basic layout of the  image above, hold your guitar in front of you so that the strings are facing you and  the headstock is pointing up. The image of the guitar chord chart represents this same view of your guitar,  with strings running vertically and frets horizontally. Which End Is Up? Guitar chord charts are  more commonly situated vertically (like above) rather than horizontally, especially  in songbooks. Its good to learn to interpret both vertical and horizontal grids  though. Righty or Lefty? Since guitar chord charts are  typically written for right-handed guitarists, they provide a challenge to left-handed players, who have to do a bit of re-visualization by flipping the chart  around. If a given source doesnt provide a left-handed version, you can download  left-handed guitar chord charts online. Chord Name The letter at the top of the chart is the name of the chord. RELATED: 20 Easy Songs with Basic Guitar Chords Vertical Lines The vertical lines on a guitar fingering chart represent the six strings of the  guitar. The low E string (the thickest one) is on the left of the diagram, followed  by the A, D, G, B and high E string, which is on the right of the diagram. The  string names are sometimes noted at the bottom of the guitar chord chart. Horizontal Lines The horizontal lines on the chart represent the metal frets on  the neck of the guitar. The top line will generally be bolded or marked by a double  line, which indicates the guitars nut. Fret numbers are sometimes noted to the left  of the sixth string. Chords Beyond the 4th Fret If the guitar fingering chart  is depicting frets higher than the fourth  fret, the top line on the chart will not be bolded (or doubled) and fret numbers will  be shown, either to the left of the sixth string or to the right of the first string, to  help orient you on the fretboard. SEE ALSO: How to Read Guitar Tabs Black Dots The black (or red) dots on the diagram tell you  which frets and strings to place your fingers on. The numbers inside the dots  indicate which fingers to use on each of the frets. They correspond to the four  fingers of the fretting hand. Number 1 is the index finger, 2 is the middle finger, 3  is the ring finger, and 4 is your pinky. You dont use the thumb to fret, except in  certain unusual circumstances. In those cases there would be a T inside the black  dot. Fingerings can also sometimes be found written along the bottom of the  strings of a chord chart, or between the nut mark and the chord name instead of  inside the dots. Xs and Os An X above the bolded nut mark indicates a string you dont  pick or strum. An O in the same location means to play the string open. Alternate Fingerings You may come across a suggested chord fingering that  you simply cannot contort your fingers to play. In this case try experimenting with  alternate fingerings. The most commonly used chord fingerings, however, will  work for most guitarists. How a Barre Chord Is Charted As you probably already know, barre chords  are chords that involve using one finger, usually your index finger, to hold down  multiple strings in a single fret simultaneously. A barre is noted on a guitar chord diagram by a curved or solid line running  through a fret from the first note to the last note of the chord, or by a series of dots  in the same fret that all bear the same number. Ready to give it a shot? Check out this infographic from Guitar Domination to learn 32 essential chords. [Preview below] Guitartricks.com is an online subscription service that has provided video guitar lessons for  beginners  and advanced  players since 1998. The site has more than 11,000 video lessons and 600+ song tutorials. Learn more about the site with this Guitar Tricks Review. Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher