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Chord Library

Chord Library

A quick reference of common guitar chord shapes. Tap the link under a chord to jump straight to the lesson that teaches it.

Category

36 chords

1342
Barre
134
Barre
2134
1324
12
124
123

How to read the diagrams: dots are where your fingers press (the number inside = which finger), ○ means play the open string, ✕ means don't play it, and the orange bar means barre with one finger. Tap “🔊 Play” to hear the chord for real (synthesized from the fretting) and tune your fingering against it.

Color chords: plain → colored comparison

Add one note to a plain chord, or swap the 3rd for another note, and the sound and mood change completely — that's a 'color chord'. Plain on the left, colored on the right; see exactly which note is added or changed.

321
2134
add9Added / changed: Adds the 9th, D (keeps the 3rd, E)

More open and airy, like a beam of light on the chord. A staple of modern folk and indie pop.

321
32
maj7Added / changed: Adds the major 7th, B

Warm, literary, with a touch of elegant ease. Shines at the start or end of a phrase.

1342
321
maj7Added / changed: Adds the major 7th, E

Delicate and soft, jazzy — and no full barre needed. A stand-in for F while your barre isn't ringing yet.

213
321
dominant 7Added / changed: Adds the minor 7th, F (G–B–D–F)

Tense and unstable, like it wants to push forward. The pull is strongest moving to C (G7 → C).

231
21
m7Added / changed: Adds the minor 7th, G (A–C–E–G)

Softer and hazier, with an urban feel. Swap it in when Am sounds too 'hard'.

132
134
sus4Added / changed: 3rd F# → 4th G (suspension)

Unresolved and tense, wanting to resolve back to D. Dsus4 → D is the classic 'tension–release'.

132
13
sus2Added / changed: 3rd F# → 2nd E (suspension)

Airy and floating, neither major nor minor — very modern. Easy to finger; a modern-folk standard.