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Chord Chart Generator — Guitar & Piano Chords

Free online chord finder & song-chart maker: guitar & piano chord diagrams with fingering · hear any chord · transpose songs · loop chord progressions · reverse chord lookup · Nashville numbers · build & share ChordPro charts. No signup, no upload, no practice tracking.
▸ Chord Finder
0 st
C
▸ Chords in this keyC major
Click any chord to load it above. These are the common chords (the diatonic triads & sevenths) that fit the selected key.

Chord charts, chord theory and how to use this generator

Everything below is answered in full — how the four tools work, how to read a guitar or piano diagram, what the chord symbols actually mean, how transposing and capos relate, how to write and print a song chart, and how to practise the changes without a teacher.

01. Using the generator

What can this tool do?

Four things, on four tabs. Chord Finder looks up any chord and draws it for guitar and piano, and plays it. Song Chart turns lyrics with chords in brackets into a clean, printable chart. Progression Player loops a sequence at a tempo you set so you can practise the changes. Reverse Lookup goes the other way: give it a handful of notes and it names the chord.

Do I need to install anything or sign up?

No. It is a single web page — no account, no download, no plugin. Everything runs in the browser, including the sound.

Is it free? Any limits?

Completely free, with no account, no watermark on printed charts and no cap on how many songs you make.

Does it work on a phone or tablet?

Yes. The diagrams and the chart reflow for small screens, and playback works on iOS and Android. On an iPhone, check the ring/silent switch if you hear nothing — Safari mutes web audio when the phone is on silent.

How do I share a chart with my band?

Use Copy share link. The whole chart is packed into the URL itself, so anyone who opens the link sees your song exactly as you left it — nothing is stored on a server and there is nothing for them to sign up to.

Can I print a chart or save it as a PDF?

Yes — Print produces a clean sheet with the interface stripped out, and your browser's print dialog can save that as a PDF. Print it before rehearsal rather than passing a phone around: paper does not lock its screen mid-song.

Does it work offline?

Once the page has loaded, yes — chord lookup, diagrams, transposing and playback all run locally. Load it once at home and it keeps working in a rehearsal room with no signal.

Is my song text uploaded anywhere?

No. Lyrics and chords stay in your browser; the share link carries the chart in the URL rather than through a database. Nothing you type is transmitted, logged or associated with an account.

02. Reading the diagrams

How do I read a guitar chord diagram?

The six vertical lines are the strings, low E on the left to high E on the right. The horizontal lines are frets, with the thick line at the top being the nut. A dot shows where to press, and the number inside it is which finger to use — 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 little. Above the diagram, O means play that string open and X means don't play it at all.

What does the number beside the diagram mean?

It is the fret the diagram starts on. When a shape sits higher up the neck the grid shifts with it, so a 5 beside the top line means the first row you see is the fifth fret, not the nut.

What is a barre and how is it shown?

A curved line or a bar across several strings means one finger — almost always the index — presses all of them at once. That is a barre. It is the single hardest thing for beginners, and the trick is less about strength than placement: roll the finger slightly onto its side and keep it close to the fret.

Why does the same chord have several different shapes?

Because the same three or four notes appear in many places on the fretboard. An open C and a barre C at the third fret contain the same notes in a different order and register. Choose by context: the shape nearest your last chord usually wins, because it involves the least movement.

How do I read the piano diagram?

The highlighted keys are the notes you press, drawn on a two-octave keyboard so the shape of the chord is visible. Play them together with any comfortable fingering — on piano the notes matter far more than which finger lands where, at least until you start moving between chords quickly.

Are the shapes left-handed friendly?

The diagrams are drawn right-handed, which is the convention in every songbook. A left-handed player reading a right-handed diagram mirrors it mentally — or, more practically, holds a phone up to a mirror. The note names and theory are identical either way.

Which fingering should I choose when several are offered?

The one that gets you to the next chord fastest. Beginners often pick the shape that is easiest in isolation and then discover it needs a full hand reset to reach the following chord. Play the change, not the chord.

03. Chord theory, in plain language

What actually is a chord?

Three or more notes sounding together. The basic building block is the triad: a root, a third and a fifth. Everything else on this page — sevenths, sus chords, extensions — is that triad with a note added, removed or moved.

What is the difference between a major and a minor chord?

One note, moved by one fret. A major triad has a third four semitones above the root; a minor triad flattens that third to three semitones. That single semitone is the whole difference between the bright chord and the sad one.

What does the 7 in C7 mean, and how is it different from Cmaj7?

C7 is a dominant seventh: the major triad plus a flattened seventh. It sounds unresolved and wants to move somewhere — it is the engine of blues and of the ii–V–I. Cmaj7 keeps the seventh natural and sounds soft and settled. Confusing the two is the most common chord-symbol mistake there is.

What is a sus chord?

A chord with the third suspended — replaced by the note above (sus4) or below (sus2). Since the third is what makes a chord major or minor, a sus chord is neither, which is why it sounds open and unresolved. Guitarists often use Dsus4 and Dsus2 as decoration around a plain D.

What do dim and aug mean?

Diminished stacks two minor thirds — a minor chord with the fifth flattened too — and sounds tense and unstable. Augmented raises the fifth instead, producing a chord that hangs in the air. Both are mostly used as passing chords between two more settled ones.

What is the difference between add9 and 9?

Cadd9 adds the ninth to the triad and nothing else. C9 implies the seventh as well — it is C7 with a ninth on top. So add9 is gentle and folky, while 9 carries the dominant tension of the seventh underneath it.

What is a slash chord like C/G?

The letter before the slash is the chord, the letter after it is the note in the bass. C/G is an ordinary C chord with G at the bottom. They exist mainly to make the bass line move smoothly — C, C/B, Am walks the bass down step by step while the harmony barely changes.

What is an inversion?

The same chord with a different note at the bottom. C–E–G, E–G–C and G–C–E are all C major. On a piano this is what lets you move between chords with tiny hand movements instead of jumping around the keyboard.

Why do some chords sound wrong when I play them?

Usually the shape is right and the execution is not. Check that no finger is muting a neighbouring string, that you are pressing just behind the fret rather than on top of it, and that the strings marked X are not being struck. If it still sounds sour, tune up — a guitar that has been in a cold car is not going to sound like the diagram.

04. Keys, transposing and capo

Why would I transpose a song?

Almost always for a voice. If the chorus sits just above a singer's comfortable range, moving the whole song down two or three semitones fixes it without changing anything else. The other reason is playability — the same song in E is far kinder to a guitarist than in E♭.

How do I transpose here?

Set the transpose control to the number of semitones you want and every chord in the chart moves with it, including slash-chord bass notes. Twelve semitones is an octave, so +2 is a whole tone up, −3 a minor third down.

Why does it show A♭ sometimes and G♯ other times?

They are the same pitch but not the same spelling, and the correct one depends on the key. In E♭ major you write A♭, because that key uses flats; in E major you write G♯. Writing the wrong one makes a chart harder to read for anyone who knows what key they are in, so the spelling follows the key rather than the keyboard.

Does it work out the key of my song?

It makes an informed guess from the chords you have used, which is right most of the time for ordinary pop and folk material. Songs that borrow chords from other keys, modulate halfway through or end on an unexpected chord can fool it — treat the answer as a strong hint, not a verdict.

What is the Nashville number system?

A way of writing a song in numbers instead of letters: the chords are numbered by their position in the key, so a I–V–vi–IV in C is C–G–Am–F and in G is G–D–Em–C. Session players use it because the chart survives a last-minute key change — the numbers do not move.

What is the difference between Nashville numbers and Roman numerals?

The same idea in two notations. Nashville uses plain numbers with a suffix for quality (1, 5, 6m, 4), classical analysis uses Roman numerals with case carrying the quality (I, V, vi, IV). Nashville is the working musician's shorthand; Roman numerals are what a theory book will show you.

There is no capo setting — how do I handle a capo?

Transpose instead, and the maths is simple: a capo at fret n raises everything by n semitones. If a song is in B♭ and you want to play open-position G shapes, transpose the chart by −3 and put the capo at the third fret — you read G shapes, the audience hears B♭.

Which keys are easiest on guitar, and which on piano?

On guitar, G, C, D, A and E, because their chords use open strings. On piano, C is easiest to start with, but keys with a few black notes — F, B♭, E♭ — are often more comfortable for the hand once you are past the beginner stage. This is precisely why a capo exists: it lets a guitarist play familiar shapes in a pianist's key.

05. Song charts and ChordPro

How do I write a song chart here?

Type your lyrics and put each chord in square brackets at the exact point in the line where the change happens: [C]Twinkle twinkle [F]little [C]star. The chart renders the chords above the syllable they belong to, which is what makes it readable at speed on a music stand.

What is ChordPro?

A plain-text convention for exactly that: chords in brackets inside the lyric line, with optional directives such as a title or section markers. It has been the lingua franca of shared song files for decades, which means a ChordPro chart pasted from elsewhere generally just works here, and what you write here travels elsewhere.

Can I paste a chart from another site?

If it uses bracketed chords, yes — paste it in and it renders. Charts written with chords on a separate line above the lyrics do not carry position information reliably, so those need the brackets adding by hand. That is a limitation of the format, not of this tool.

Can I mark verses, choruses and a bridge?

Yes — label the sections in your text and they print as headings, which is what turns a wall of lyrics into something a band can navigate mid-song. On a printed chart, clear section labels save more rehearsal time than any other formatting decision.

Should I put whole lyrics in a chart I publish?

Be careful. Chord sequences themselves are not generally protected, but lyrics are copyrighted, and publishing someone's full lyrics without a licence is infringement even on a small personal site. For your own rehearsal use, print away; for anything public, use your own words or the first line as a cue.

Can I chart an instrumental or a jam?

Yes — write the chords with no lyrics at all and you get a straightforward grid to read from. For a jam it is often more useful to switch the display to Nashville numbers, so a change of key at the last minute does not invalidate the sheet.

Does the chart remember my song if I close the tab?

Your working text stays in the browser between visits on the same device. For anything you care about, take the share link or print it — clearing site data or switching device loses local storage, as it should.

06. Practice and progressions

What is the progression player for?

Practising the changes. Type a sequence, set a tempo and how many beats each chord lasts, and it loops. Playing along with something that will not slow down for you is the fastest way to make a chord change automatic — it is also the least pleasant, which is why most people avoid it.

What tempo should I practise at?

Slower than feels satisfying. Set the tempo where you can make every change cleanly and in time, then raise it by a few BPM only when the current tempo is genuinely comfortable. Practising a change at a speed where you fumble teaches the fumble.

What are the most useful chord progressions to know?

Four cover an enormous amount of music: I–V–vi–IV (the pop progression, in C: C–G–Am–F), I–vi–IV–V (the fifties turnaround), ii–V–I (the backbone of jazz, in C: Dm7–G7–Cmaj7) and the 12-bar blues on I, IV and V. Learn them as numbers and they transpose to any key for free.

How do I get better at changing chords quickly?

Practise the transition rather than the chords: two chords, four beats each, at a tempo where nothing breaks. Look for a common finger that stays put between them and pivot around it — between C and Am, for instance, two fingers never move. Lift and land the moving fingers together, not one at a time.

Any advice for barre chords?

Get the thumb behind the neck rather than over the top, roll the index finger slightly onto its bony side, and press just behind the fret. If it still buzzes, the problem is usually position, not strength — and F major is easier as a partial barre on the top four strings while you build up to the full shape.

What is the metronome doing in there?

Marking the beat so you can hear whether your changes are landing on time rather than approximately near it. Turn it on for anything you intend to play with other people; a chord change that arrives half a beat late is far more noticeable in a band than a slightly wrong voicing.

Can I use the reverse lookup to work out a song by ear?

That is exactly what it is for. Find the notes on your instrument, enter them, and it tells you what the chord is called — which is much faster than hunting through a chord book. It is also a good way to identify the odd chord in a song that you can play but cannot name.

07. Sound, privacy and troubleshooting

I press play and hear nothing.

Three usual causes. Browsers block sound until you interact with the page, so click somewhere first. On an iPhone the ring/silent switch mutes web audio entirely. And check the tab is not muted — most browsers put a small speaker icon in the tab when it is.

The playback sounds thin and synthetic.

It is a synthesised tone, generated in the browser rather than a recorded instrument. It is there to confirm you have the right chord and to keep time, not to sound like a guitar. For tone, play it yourself; for accuracy, this is more reliable than a sample library.

Is anything I type sent to a server?

No. Chord lookup, transposition, chart rendering and audio all happen in your browser, and the share link carries the chart inside the URL rather than through storage. There is no account, no upload and no analytics on your lyrics.

A chord shape looks impossible to play.

Some shapes genuinely are, for some hands — the theory does not know how long your fingers are. Look for an alternative voicing higher or lower on the neck, drop the shape to its top four strings, or use a partial barre. A simplified chord played in time beats a perfect chord played late.

Which browsers does it work in?

Any current browser on any operating system — Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, Brave — on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android. Audio uses the standard Web Audio API, which all of them support.

The printed chart splits a verse across two pages.

Shorten the section or reduce the print scale in your browser's print dialog. Charts read best when a section is whole on the page — if it is close, dropping the scale to 90% usually pulls it back.

Can I request an instrument or a feature?

Yes — the fastest route is a message on X. Ukulele, mandolin and alternate tunings are the requests that come up most often.

A free chord chart generator for guitar and piano

This chord chart generator is a fast, free, browser-based tool for looking up chords and building song charts. Use the chord finder to get an instant guitar chord diagram or piano chord for any root and quality — major, minor, 7th, maj7, m7, 6, sus2, sus4, diminished, augmented, add9 and extended 9th chords — and press play to hear it strummed or blocked through the Web Audio engine. Every chord shows real fingering, so it doubles as a guitar chord chart and a piano chord chart in one place.

Build, transpose and share song charts

Paste lyrics with chords in ChordPro format and the song chart maker lays the chords neatly above the words and draws a diagram for every chord in the song. Transpose a single chord or the whole song up or down by semitones with one click, detect the key automatically, and switch the display to Nashville numbers or Roman numerals. Loop any chord progression hands-free with a built-in metronome to practise changes, or use reverse chord lookup to name a chord from notes you click on a fretboard or keyboard. Copy a share link to send a chart to a bandmate, or print a clean, ink-friendly copy.

Everything runs 100% client-side: no sign-up, no upload, no ads and no practice tracking. It's one of 146+ free browser tools at jasperbernaers.com — pair it with the guitar tuner, metronome and virtual piano.