Guitar Chord Finder
Tap the frets you are holding and the guitar chord finder tells you what chord you are playing, with its notes, a chord box and every other name that fits.
Other names for this shape
Tap a fret to hold it, tap it again to lift the finger (the string then rings open). Tap an open string to mute it. The buttons under the neck switch each string between open (0) and muted (x). Keyboard: Space strums, Backspace clears.
How to use the guitar chord finder
To answer "what chord am I playing?", tap the frets you hold on this guitar chord finder: it is a reverse chord finder that names the chord from the notes that sound, draws the chord box and lists other names, for guitar, ukulele, bass, mandolin and banjo. The neck is drawn the way it looks in a tab: the lowest string at the bottom, the nut on the left. Tap a fret on a string to put a finger there; each string holds one note, so tapping another fret on the same string moves the finger, tapping the same fret again lifts it so the string rings open, and tapping an open string mutes it. The buttons under the neck show each string with its fret: tap one to switch it between open (0) and muted (x). The guitar chord finder names the chord as you go, shows the notes on the neck, and draws a chord box of the shape.
If you already know the shape, type it in the box, lowest string first: x32010 is an open C. For frets above 9, put a dash or a space between strings: x-10-12-12-11-10. Press Strum or Space to hear the chord from the lowest string up, and Backspace clears the neck. The Instrument and Tuning menus switch to ukulele, bass, mandolin or banjo, and to tunings such as Drop D, DADGAD or Open G. The address bar keeps the shape, so the link opens the same chord.
How to read a chord shape
A shape like x32010 lists one fret per string, from the thickest string to the thinnest. x means the string is not played, 0 means it is played open, and a number is the fret you press. Here are common open shapes in standard tuning and the names the finder gives them.
| Shape (low E to high E) | Chord |
|---|---|
| x32010 | C |
| 032010 | C/E |
| 320003 | G |
| xx0232 | D |
| xx0231 | Dm |
| 022100 | E |
| 022000 | Em |
| x02210 | Am |
| x02010 | Am7 |
| x32000 | Cmaj7 |
| 133211 | F |
| x24432 | Bm |
For diagrams of every chord in every key, see the guitar chords chart, and to strum any of these shapes, hold it on the virtual guitar. If the name looks wrong, check the tuning first with the guitar tuner: a string tuned a semitone off changes the chord.
Why a shape can have more than one name
The finder names the chord from the notes that sound, not from the shape. Two things change the name. The first is the bass: play the C shape but let the open low E ring (032010) and the lowest note becomes E, so the chord is C/E, a C major chord with E in the bass. The second is that some groups of notes fit two chord types. The Am shape x02210 holds A, C and E; read from C, those notes are also a C6 chord without its 5th. The finder picks the name whose root is the lowest note, then the simpler chord, and lists the rest under Other names for this shape. Tap one to see its notes marked on the neck.
A chord name also does not depend on how many times a note is doubled. The open E shape plays E three times and B twice, and it is still E major. To name notes from a piano instead, use the chord finder.
Ukulele, bass, mandolin and banjo
Pick the instrument above and the neck changes to its strings and tunings. On a ukulele in standard tuning the G string is tuned above the C string (G4 C4 E4 A4), so the lowest string is not the lowest note. So on this tuning, and on the banjo, the finder names the chord from its root and leaves out the slash: 2000 on ukulele is Am and 0003 is C. Choose the Low G tuning and the bass note counts again.
On a 5-string banjo the short 5th string starts from the fifth fret, so it is drawn first and can be played open or from fret 6 up; the banjo chords page has the usual shapes by name. The open strings in Open G tuning (G4 D3 G3 B3 D4) make a G major chord. On a bass, two notes a 5th apart name a power chord (such as E5), and other pairs show the interval between them. The mandolin is tuned G3 D4 A4 E5, in fifths, like a violin, so its open strings match the violin notes chart; see mandolin chords for shapes by name.
More for guitar: Guitar Tuner · Guitar Chords · Guitar Scales · Fretboard Notes · Capo Chart · Virtual Guitar · Guitar Tab Maker · Chord Chart Maker · Online Guitar Amp · Guitar Effects · Online Looper
More for ukulele: Ukulele Tuner · Ukulele Chords · Fretboard Notes · Chord Chart Maker
Questions
How do I know what chord I am playing on guitar?
Tap the same frets on the neck above, or type the shape from the low E string up, such as x02210. The guitar chord finder shows the chord name, here Am, and the notes in it.
What does the x mean in a chord shape?
x means that string is muted: you do not play it, or you touch it lightly so it does not ring. 0 means the string is played open.
Can I use this as a ukulele chord finder?
Yes. Choose Ukulele in the Instrument menu. The strings are shown low to high in the order G C E A, the way ukulele shapes are written, so 0003 is C.
Why does it show a slash chord like C/E?
The note after the slash is the lowest note that sounds. If you play the C shape and let the low E string ring, E is the bass and the chord is C/E. Mute the low E string to hear plain C.
Does it work with alternate tunings?
Yes. The Tuning menu has Drop D, half step down, full step down, Drop C, DADGAD, Open G, Open D and Open E for guitar, plus tunings for the other instruments. The name updates when you change the tuning.