Chords · Reference 228 pages · Free · No login

Free guitar Chord Encyclopedia 19 chord types · 12 keys · voicings & audio

Every common guitar chord, in every key, with a dedicated page — voicings, finger positions, fretboard map, and a one-click jump to the interactive encyclopedia or chord chart generator for custom voicings.

19

Chord types

12

Keys covered

228

Reference pages

£0

Cost, forever

01 Triads

Three-note chords — the building blocks every other chord extends.

Major [ maj ]

Degrees: 1 · 3 · 5

Bright, resolved, stable — the default sound of "happy" in Western music.

Minor [ m ]

Degrees: 1 · b3 · 5

Melancholy, introspective, serious. The flat 3rd is the single change that makes a chord sound "sad".

Diminished [ dim ]

Degrees: 1 · b3 · b5

Tense, unresolved, suspenseful — both the 3rd and 5th lowered.

Augmented [ aug ]

Degrees: 1 · 3 · #5

Dreamlike, suspended, slightly mysterious. The raised 5th refuses to settle.

Suspended 2nd [ sus2 ]

Degrees: 1 · 2 · 5

Open, suspended, ambiguous — the 3rd is replaced with the 2nd. Neither major nor minor.

Suspended 4th [ sus4 ]

Degrees: 1 · 4 · 5

Tension that wants to resolve — the 3rd is replaced with the 4th, which usually drops back to a 3.

02 Sevenths

Four-note chords adding a 7th — the workhorse of jazz, blues and pop.

Dominant 7 [ 7 ]

Degrees: 1 · 3 · 5 · b7

Bluesy, unresolved, restless — the b7 wants to fall to the major 3rd of the IV chord.

Major 7 [ maj7 ]

Degrees: 1 · 3 · 5 · 7

Sophisticated, jazzy, lush — the major 7th is the sound of bossa nova and 70s soft rock.

Minor 7 [ m7 ]

Degrees: 1 · b3 · 5 · b7

Smooth, mellow, sophisticated — the m7 sound is jazz/neo-soul comping.

03 Sixths & Adds

Add a 6 or a 9 to a triad — major sweetened, minor warmed.

Major 6 [ 6 ]

Degrees: 1 · 3 · 5 · 6

Sweet, vintage — the 6 adds nostalgia without the seriousness of a 7.

Minor 6 [ m6 ]

Degrees: 1 · b3 · 5 · 6

Bittersweet — the major 6th lifts a minor chord out of its weight, hinting at Dorian.

Add 9 [ add9 ]

Degrees: 1 · 3 · 5 · 9

Major chord with a sparkle added — open and modern, no jazz weight.

Minor Add 9 [ m(add9) ]

Degrees: 1 · b3 · 5 · 9

Minor with a glowing 9th — modern, ambient, slightly melancholy but uplifted.

04 Ninths

Five-note chords extending the 7th — sophisticated, jazz-leaning.

Dominant 9 [ 9 ]

Degrees: 1 · 3 · 5 · b7 · 9

Funky, full, bluesy — the dom7 with an extra colour note.

Major 9 [ maj9 ]

Degrees: 1 · 3 · 5 · 7 · 9

Spacious, jazzy, slightly hazy — major 7 with the 9 on top.

Minor 9 [ m9 ]

Degrees: 1 · b3 · 5 · b7 · 9

Smooth, neo-soul-perfect — m7 with the 9 on top.

05 Altered

Tension chords — half-diminished, dominant alterations, sus4-7.

Minor 7♭5 [ m7b5 ]

Degrees: 1 · b3 · b5 · b7

Dark, unsettled — diminished triad plus a b7. Wants to resolve to a dominant 7.

Diminished 7 [ dim7 ]

Degrees: 1 · b3 · b5 · bb7

Symmetric — every interval is a minor 3rd. Maximum tension, slippery in resolution.

Minor-Major 7 [ m(maj7) ]

Degrees: 1 · b3 · b5 · 7

Beautiful and unsettling — minor triad with a leading-tone 7th. James Bond opening chord.

FAQ

About the chord encyclopedia.

What teachers and students ask about the chord pages, the voicings we include, and how they pair with the interactive tools.

How many guitar chord pages are on this site?

There are 228 dedicated reference pages — every one of the 19 chord types covered, in all 12 keys, each with its own URL, voicing diagrams, fretboard map and audio. A student googling for, say, "Bm9 guitar chord chart" lands directly on the right page.

What is the difference between this index and the chord encyclopedia?

They are the same library — this page is the flat index grouped by chord family for fast browsing or sharing a specific URL; the chord encyclopedia is the same library presented with a category picker, search, and audio playback for each voicing. Use either entry point.

Which chords should a beginner learn first?

The five "open" major and minor triads — C, D, E, G, A, plus Am, Dm, Em — cover the chord vocabulary of thousands of songs. Add G7 and D7 next for blues and folk.

Do the diagrams include movable barre shapes?

Yes. Most pages include both E-shape (root on the 6th string) and A-shape (root on the 5th string) movable voicings alongside the open-position shape. Once you can play those two shapes, you can play any chord in any key just by sliding up or down the neck — the page for each key shows the correct fret positions explicitly.

Can I build my own custom chord chart instead?

Yes — the chord chart generator lets you draw any voicing (alternate fingerings, partial chords, slash chords, modal voicings) and export it as SVG or PNG. The encyclopedia is the reference; the generator is for custom shapes the encyclopedia doesn't carry.