Guitar Lesson #8: Reading Chord Diagrams and Tabs

A guitar chord is a chord, a collection of tones usually sounded together at once, played on a guitar, a type of chromatically fretted string instrument. Chord diagrams Guitar chords can be represented in standard musical notation in chord diagrams. The symbols used in the chord diagram format: Vertical lines represent the guitar strings. The line on the left represents the sixth (or thickest) string on the guitar. Horizontal lines represent frets on the guitar. Unless a different fret number is indicated on the right-hand side of the diagram, the top horizontal line represents the nut (or "zeroth" fret). An X above a vertical line indicates a string that is not played. An O above a vertical line indicates an open string (a string that is played without being fretted). A filled circle on a vertical line indicates the position in which a string is fretted to play a note. A filled circle and square on a vertical line also indicates the position in which a string is played, and that the note is the root note or an octave of it. A curved line is used to indicate a barre, which is a single finger used to hold multiple strings down at once. Numbers beneath certain string indicate the finger number that is usually used to play this note. (One represents the index finger, two is the middle finger, etc.). Note that the chord diagrams have to be reversed for left-handed guitars and guitarists. Guitar tab Tab is a form of musical notation, which tells players where to place their fingers on a particular instrument rather than which pitches to play. Guitar tab consists of a series of horizontal lines forming a staff (or stave) similar to standard notation. Each line represents one of the instrument's strings therefore standard guitar tab has a six-line staff and bass guitar tab has four lines. The top line of the tablature represents the highest pitched string of the guitar. The numbers that are written on the lines represent the fret used to obtain the desired pitch. For example, the number 3 written on the top line of the staff indicates that the player should press down at the third fret on the high E (first string). Number 0 denotes the nut - that is, an open string.

Chord Diagram	Tab
	C Major e|---0 B|---1 G|---0 D|---2 A|---3 E|---x
	A Major e|---0 B|---2 G|---2 D|---2 A|---0 E|---x
	G Major e|---3 B|---0 G|---0 D|---0 A|---2 E|---3
	E Major e|---0 B|---0 G|---1 D|---2 A|---2 E|---0
	D Major e|---2 B|---3 G|---2 D|---0 A|---x E|---x

D chord - Justin Sandercoe A and E chords - Justin Sandercoe G, C, Amin, Emin and Dmin - Justin Sandercoe Put chords together to play Wild Thing Prev         Top         Next