Beginner Guitar Lesson Online - How to Read Tabs and Chords

This beginner guitar lesson online will explain to you how to read a chord diagram. Chord diagrams, aka chord chart, is a fast and easy way to learn and play a chord.

The horizontal lines on the chart represent the frets and the vertical lines represent the strings.

What do the Vertical Lines on a Chord Diagram mean?
Represent the Six strings of a guitar. The line on the far right, represents the 1st string (highest pitch string) and the far left vertical line represents the 6th string (lowest pitch string).

What do the Horizontal Lines on a Chord Diagram mean?
The horizontal lines on a chord diagram represent the frets on the guitar. A fret is the sections of a guitar, mostly created by metal strips. Each space is a fret. On the diagram the thick horizontal line represents the nut of the guitar the end of the fingerboard), then the first fret comes and then the second and so on.

What does everything on the diagram mean?

The dots on a chord diagram represent where to place your fingers. If a dot is on a line, then a finger belongs on the that same string on the guitar and in the same fret.

The numbers in the dots indicate which finger you should use.
When there is a number 1, that means use your index finger.
When there is a number 2, that means use your middle finger.
When there is a number 3, that means use your ring finger.
When there is a number 4, that means use your pinky.
T is rarely used, but stands for your thumb.

What does the "x" mean on a chord diagram?
The "x" means that you DO NOT play the string. In some cases, you still play the string mark "x", but you do not want it to ring. To do this, you mute the string. With the closest finger to the string, tilt your finger so that it just touches the "x" string. This will mute that particular string when playing.

What does the "o" mean on a chord diagram?
An "o" means that you do play the string, but you do not have a finger on the string. This is known as an Open String.

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This beginner guitar lesson online when explain how to read guitar tablature. Guitar tablature is system using notation that depicts the string on a guitar.

The word "TAB" will appear at the beginning to show that it is tablature and not a staff. Most tablature on the internet does not show "TAB", but in most books it is printed at the beginning.

The Horizontal lines indicate the six strings. The top horizontal line indicates, the first string. Remember the first string is the string with the highest pitch. The last horizontal line indicates the sixth string, which is the string with the lowest sounding pitch.

The numbers indicate which frets you place your finger on the string on. For example if there is a 3 located on the top string, that means that you place a finger on the 1st string at the 3rd fret. (When placing your finger on the indicated fret, place it directly behind the metal strip). A "0" or zero indicates an open string.

The vertical lines are called bar lines. These help break up the tablature into units of time. This makes learning the tablature easier.

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