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Guitar chords for beginners

Hear the song. See the chord, the tab and where every finger goes. Slow it down until it clicks.

  1. 1Press play
  2. 2Watch the chord light up
  3. 3Play along, slowly
  4. 4Speed up a little each day

Symphony No. 9, 1824

Ode to Joy

by Ludwig van Beethoven

Tempo
112beats per minute
Count
4beats in each bar
Key
C majorthe home note
Level
1 of 3easiest
Bar 1:1 of 16Tap play to turn sound on
Key C major
0
Higher or lower, to match a voice.
Tempo112beats per minute right now

Level 1. Strum one chord per beat. Start here.

Chord names above, strum arrows below. Down arrow = strum down toward the floor, up arrow = back up.

01020304050607080910111213141516CGCGCGCGCGCGCGCGCGC↓↓↑↑↓↑↓↓↑↑↓↑↓↓↑↑↓↑↓↓↑↑↓↑↓↓↑↑↓↑↓↓↑↑↓↑↓↓↑↑↓↑↓↓↑↑↓↑↓↓↑↑↓↑↓↓↑↑↓↑↓↓↑↑↓↑↓↓↑↑↓↑↓↓↑↑↓↑↓↓↑↑↓↑↓↓↑↑↓↑↓↓↑↑↓↑
Where your fingers go● press here · the number is which finger
EADGBeopen12345678910111232010

Hold this chord

C×321EADGBe

Coming up: G

Numbers are fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky.

Space bar plays and pauses. Left and right arrows jump a bar.

New to guitar?

The words on this page, explained

Chord
Several strings played together. Each chord has a shape your left hand holds.
Strum
Brushing across the strings with your right hand. Down means toward the floor.
Fret
The metal bars along the neck. "Fret 3" means press the string just behind the third bar.
Tab
Six lines, one per string, thin string on top. A number on a line is the fret to press.
Tempo
How fast the song goes, in beats per minute. Slower is easier and sounds just as good.
Key
The home note a song is built around. Changing it makes the song higher or lower.
Capo
A clamp you put across the neck so the same chord shapes come out in a higher key.
Open string
A string played without pressing it anywhere. Shown as 0 or a circle.

Songs

Songs to play along with

Twenty public domain tunes everyone knows, each in three ways: chords, melody and fingerstyle. Here are the easiest six.

All songs

Chords

The eight chords to learn first

Numbers are fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky. A circle means play the string open. A cross means skip it.

Full chord chart

How to learn guitar chords by playing along

Chord charts alone do not teach you to play. You need to hear where each chord lands in the song and change to the next one in time. That is what the player above is for.

  1. 1

    Pick a song and press play

    Listen once through without touching the guitar.

  2. 2

    Stay in Chords mode

    Watch the chord name light up and the arrows show each strum.

  3. 3

    Drag Speed down to 60 percent

    Play along, even if your changes are late.

  4. 4

    Raise the speed a little each day

    When 100 percent feels easy, try Melody mode.

Reading the chord diagrams

Each diagram is the neck of the guitar seen from the front, with the thick low E string on the left. The thick line at the top is the nut, the bone strip where the neck meets the head. Dots are where you press, and the number inside a dot is which finger to use.

Press just behind the fret, not on top of it, and use the tip of your finger so it does not touch the string next door. If a note buzzes, you are probably too far from the fret.

Three ways to play every song

Chords is Level 1: hold one shape and strum on the beat. Melody is Level 2: pick the tune one note at a time, following the tab and the lit fretboard. Fingerstyle is Level 3: your thumb plays the low notes while your fingers play the tune.

The song stays the same across all three. That is the point: you hear the whole thing while playing the part you can manage today.

Questions people ask

Which guitar chords should a beginner learn first?
Start with E minor, A minor, C, G, D and E. Those six open chords play hundreds of songs, and the songs on this site use only shapes from that list plus E7. Add D minor and F once the first six feel easy.
How long does it take to learn beginner guitar chords?
Most people can change between two open chords within a week of short daily practice, and play a simple song with four chords in about a month. Playing along with a song at half speed, then a little faster each day, is the fastest route.
What do the numbers on a chord diagram mean?
The dots show where to press. The number inside a dot is the finger: 1 is your index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky. A circle above a string means play it open. A cross means do not play that string.
Can I change the key of a song to make it easier?
Yes. Use the key control under the player. In Chords mode the site keeps the shapes you know and tells you where to put a capo. In Melody and Fingerstyle mode it moves the notes to the nearest playable frets.
Are the songs free to use?
Every song here is public domain, so the tune belongs to everyone. The recordings and arrangements are made by us for this site. You can play, learn and perform them freely.

Want the songs and the strings that go with them? See Resources.