How to Read Chords: Chord Symbols and Chord Diagrams Explained

Reading chords means turning the letters and symbols on a chart into the notes you actually play together. Knowing what to play when you see "Am7", why the bass plays a different note on "C/E", and what the dots and crosses on a guitar diagram are telling you is the foundation.

When you play alone, a misread chord just sounds a bit off to you. In a band it's a different story. If the guitarist is playing G shapes with a capo while the bassist plays the G written on the chart, two people are playing the same song in two different keys. Nobody seems to be making a mistake, yet the sound is wrong.

How do you read a chord symbol?

Every chord symbol has two parts: the root and the suffix next to it. The root is written as a capital letter and tells you which note the chord is built on. The suffix sets the chord's colour: minor, seventh, suspended and so on.

Take "F#m7" apart: F# is the root, m means minor, and 7 means the seventh is added. No suffix at all, just "F#", means a major chord.

A # (sharp) next to the root raises it by a semitone, and a b or ♭ (flat) lowers it by a semitone. Bb is B flat.

Major, minor, 7, sus: what does each symbol mean?

The same chord is written differently from source to source. Here are the most common symbols, using C:

A lone Δ is a trap too: most people mean maj7, some mean plain major. Writing "maj" and "m" on your band's charts avoids the problem.

What do slash chords like C/E mean?

In a slash chord, the left side of the slash is the chord and the right side is the lowest note. C/E reads as "C over E".

In a band, this symbol is mostly for the bassist. The bass plays E. The guitarist can usually play a normal C; with the E in the bass, it still sounds like C/E. What matters is that two people aren't playing different bottom notes.

How do you read a guitar chord diagram?

A guitar chord diagram is a front-on drawing of part of the neck. Here's what to look at:

• Vertical lines are strings: the leftmost is the low E, the rightmost is the high E.
• Horizontal lines are frets: the thick line at the top is the nut.
• Dots: where you press. Numbers inside are fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky.
• O and X: O means play the string open, X means don't play it.
• A curved line or thick bar: one finger presses several strings (a barre).
• A number like "5fr": the diagram starts at that fret, not at the nut.

Some sources draw it sideways, with the high E on top. Check the orientation first.

How are keyboard chord charts different from guitar ones?

Keyboard charts draw a stretch of keys and mark the chord's notes. There's no fixed hand shape like on guitar. A keyboard player can stack the same chord in a different order and at a different height. That's called a voicing.

In a band, that flexibility is useful. If the bass has the root, the keys don't need to double it. When two instruments play every note in the same range, the sound gets crowded. The symbol tells you which notes are available; it doesn't say everyone has to play all of them.

How do you follow chords written over lyrics?

Most chord charts put the chords above the lyrics. The rule is simple: the chord changes on the syllable it sits over. A line with no chord above it keeps the previous chord.

Besides chords, these charts usually carry:

• Section names: Intro, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Outro. You need them to say "let's take it from the chorus" at rehearsal.
• Key: the key the song is written in.
• Capo: a note like "Capo 2".

The capo note is the most common source of confusion in a band. A guitarist playing G shapes on capo 2 is actually sounding A. If the bass and keys read the G on the chart, the whole song goes out in the wrong key. So the band's shared chart should show the real (concert) chords, and the capo shapes should stay as the guitarist's own note. The details of changing key are in the guide to transposing.

Letters, Do-Re-Mi, or H? Why note names get mixed up

English-language charts use letters, but plenty of musicians trained in Europe or Latin America think in Do Re Mi: "La minor" is the Am on your chart.

Then there's the German system. In German and some Central European sources, H is B natural and B is B flat. If someone in the band learned that way, asking them to "play a B" might get you a Bb.

If you're just starting a band, agreeing on note names at the first rehearsal saves you misunderstandings later.

Is the Nashville Number System worth it for a band?

The Nashville Number System comes from Nashville studio musicians. Instead of letters, chords are written as scale degrees. In the key of C, C, F, G, C becomes 1, 4, 5, 1. Minor chords are written 6m or 6-.

The upside is that the chart doesn't care about key. When the singer says "can we take it down a tone?", 1, 4, 5, 1 is still 1, 4, 5, 1; only the note that 1 stands for changes. The downside is that the whole band has to know the system. There's one more trap: in letter charts "C5" is a power chord, while in the number system "5" is the chord on the fifth degree. Make it clear at the top of the chart which system you're using.

These mix-ups multiply when every phone has a different version of the chart. In BandUp, songs are written with the lyrics and chords editor; you select a word and drop the chord right above it. A member playing a Bb or Eb instrument can use personal transpose to shift the chords on their own screen only, and the song's key stays the same for everyone else. On stage, Stage Mode shows the same chart with large lyrics and chords, right alongside the setlist order.

Once the charts are sorted, the next job is putting the songs in order for the show: how to build a setlist.