A guitar diagram is a diagram to show where the notes are when playing a chord or a scale on the fretboard.

Lines from top to bottom represents the 6 strings on the guitar. 6^th string being the thickest and the 1^st string being the thinnest. The columns from left to right represent the frets. Unless there is a number underneath, the left most column would mean that it is the 1^st fret. To show what notes are played in a chord or a scale, we put a dot on the corresponding string and fret.

Ex1) Play a note on the 4^th string 7^th fret.

Notice the number “7” on the bottom which indicates the fret number.

Ex2) For fingering, I like to use letters instead of numbers to avoid any confusions.

Index finger – i

Middle finger – m

Ring finger – r

Pinky – p

The above diagram shows to play the 4^th string 7^th fret with your index finger.

Ex3) To show an open string, a dot(circle) would be drawn next to the string on the left side of the diagram. Notice there are no fret numbers.

Play the open strings on the 3^rd and 4^th string.

Ex4) If there is an X on the left side, it means do not play that string.

Do not play the 5th and the 6th string.

Ex5) For barre chords, draw a thick line through the frets you want to barre.

Barre all the string on the 5^th fret with your index finger.

Ex6) Chord diagram

This diagram shows how a Cmaj7 looks like. Barre the 3^rd fret starting from the 5^th string with your index finger. Put your middle finger on the 3^rd string 4^th fret, ring finger on the 4^th string 5^th fret and your pinky on the 2^nd string 5^th fret. And do not play the 6th string.

Ex7) Scale diagram

This diagram shows how to play an A minor (C Major) pentatonic scale. Notice that the 5^th fret is not barred; meaning the notes are played separately. Fingering can be flexible due to the hand size but the basic fingering is shown on the diagram.

Images and content is ©Steven Ohm(2020). All rights reserved.