Chords and chord diagrams
What a chord is, how to read a chord box, and your first six chords.
Jump to: What a chord is | Reading a chord diagram | First six chords | A chart of twenty | Chord families
What a chord is
Harmony is the sound of two or more notes heard at the same time. Britannica: harmony (chords) A chord is a group of notes sounded together. Britannica: harmony (chords)
A basic chord (a triad) is built from two thirds stacked up: C–E–G is a C major triad. Britannica: harmony (chords) Adding one more third makes a seventh chord, for example C–E–G–B♭. Britannica: harmony (chords)
Reading a chord diagram
In the 20th century, ukulele and guitar music used a tablature in which a grid showed the strings and frets and dots showed where to put your fingers: the chord diagram. Britannica: tablature
- The four upright lines are the strings: G, C, E and A, from left to right.
- The thick line at the top is the nut. The lines across are the frets.
- A dot means press that string just behind that fret.
- A small circle above a string means play it open, without pressing.
Your first six chords
These six cover a lot of simple songs. Each shape is checked by our build: the notes it sounds must be the notes of the chord Britannica: ukulele Britannica: harmony (chords) Britannica: harmony (chords).
A chart of twenty chords
Major, minor and seventh chords, all checked the same way.
Chord families
Three chords that go well together in each key: the key chord, the chord a fourth above it, and the seventh chord a fifth above it. Our build works these out; in C they are C, F and G7, and every tune on this site uses only those three.
| Key | Chords |
|---|---|
| C | C, F, G7 |
| F | F, B♭, C7 |
| G | G, C, D7 |
| D | D, G, A7 |
| A | A, D, E7 |