Beginner guitar chords cheat sheet
The 8 open chords most players learn first, on one page. Print it or keep it on your phone. Tap a chord below to hear it and see other ways to play it.
The 8 chords on the sheet
Press play to hear a chord. Open it for more shapes.
Free practice game
Learn the changes, not only the shapes
Chord Switcher shows one chord after another on a beat. Start slow and speed up when the changes are clean.
Practice chord changesSongs you can play with this sheet
Every chord in these songs is on the sheet. Play along with the strumming in time.
Printed
Which chord to learn first
Start with E minor. It uses two fingers and all six strings, so you can strum freely. Then learn A minor and E major, which use the same finger pattern moved one string over.
Add D, A and C next. G is the hardest of the eight for most beginners because the fingers spread across the whole neck. Leave it until the others feel easy.
How to practice the changes
Knowing a shape is not the same as switching to it on time. Pick two chords, such as Em and C, and switch between them for one minute. Count how many clean changes you make. When you reach 30 a minute, add a third chord.
Strum slowly at first. A clean change at a slow tempo beats a fast change with buzzing strings.
