So, I’m looking for the most comprehensive chord chart to buy

[mikev0882]

I found this one. It’s not the prettiest, but I like how it gives you a lot of bass notes over chords... what do you guys and gals think?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F283570685182

Do you have a favorite chord chart?

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by mikev0882

I found this one. It’s not the prettiest, but I like how it gives you a lot of bass notes over chords... what do you guys and gals think?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F283570685182

1. No chord chart that will fit on an average wall and still be legible (without a magnifying glass) will be "comprehensive"

2. Some of the chords on that chart are wrong, so that's hardly great. Let me see how many I can correct before I get bored:

(i) The "A#" chords would all be much better called "Bb" chords. A# chords are extremely rare. Bb chords are much more common. To an actual musician, the difference matters. (I mean obviously they sound the same, but the correct name matters.)
The same applies to most of the "D#" chords. "Eb" would be a more likely root name.

(ii) The shape labelled "A/D" is x-x-0-0-2-2 (D-G-C#-F#), which is no such thing. Should be x-x-0-2-2-0.

(iii) "A11" is Em7/C#, a rather nasty sound, with no A in it anyway.

(iv) "A7(9+)" is an unorthodox symbol, hard to make sense of, but the shape given is nonsensical anyway. It's an A7#5 with F# bass!

(v) "A9" actually shows E/A, which will sound like an incomplete Amaj9. A9 needs a G natural (and a C#).

(vi) "Am(7#)" is another nonsense symbol, and the shape shown is Fadd9/A.

OK, now I'm bored, and I didn't even get to the end of the A's. I guess you take the point: this is about as unreliable as one can imagine a chord chart could be. It was obviously made by a musical illiterate. Don't buy it. If you've already bought it, throw it away. (Sorry, recycle it... save it for wrapping Xmas presents )

My advice? Don't waste time on chord charts. Get a bona fide chord dictionary, from a reputable publisher. If you want a pretty music poster for your wall, get one with pictures of guitars or something, or maybe the circle of 5ths.

[srbell]

I never really found a need for a huge chord chart. I think a better way to go about it would be to first learn the common variation of the E, A, and D chord shapes (major, minor, 7th, min7, Maj7). Actually, for this step you may need a chord chart to get you started. This gives you the foundation for playing those shapes as barre chords all over the neck, which means you could then play any major, minor, 7th, min7, or Maj7 chord in multiple voicings/places.
You could then learn the theory behind how chords are built - what a triad is and how to make them. Extend this by understanding diatonic extensions (7ths, 9ths, 11ths, etc.). Once you have just a little bit of the theory down and understand how the notes/scales are arranged on the neck, you will never need a chord chart again. Learning the theory doesn't take too long, and it's definitely worth the effort! It all starts by simply learning the major scale as pretty much everything else is built from that.

[mikev0882]

Great answers! Thanks guys!

[ljguitar]

Hey Mike v

Here are two links for you.

Chord Finder when you need some fingerings to a suggested chord-click here

Find the name(s) of a chord you made up (Chord Namer) - click

They are companions and work well, and are free. Better than any chord book or chart I ever owned.

And if you go to jchord.com on your phone, there is a menu select (top right corner of mine) which gives drop down access to all the same functions on your phone.

Hope this adds to the discussion…

[jaymarsch]

This is the most comprehensive collection of chord charts I have ever come across. How user friendly it is, I have no idea, but it definitely is comprehensive: Guy's Grids

https://www.amazon.com/Guys-Complete.../dp/0615842836

Best,
Jayne

[JonPR]

I will just add that while chord dictionaries are great when you're starting out, it shouldn't take too long to learn how chords are structured and why they're named as they are. Once you understand that - and once you get a working knowledge of your fretboard - you can construct any chord symbol you see, anywhere on the fretboard.

[TBman]

I have chord books for dadgad and orkney, plus a few in standard. One chart isn't going to cut it for me. If you need an inversion, google is your friend.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by TBman

I have chord books for dadgad and orkney

Good point. Alt tunings need their own sets of chord shapes.

BTW, how do you tune your strings to O-R-K-N-E-Y?

[mr. beaumont]

If you learn how chords are made (which you could do in a month, if you work on it every day) you will know every chord imaginable.

[charles Tauber]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

If you learn how chords are made (which you could do in a month, if you work on it every day) you will know every chord imaginable.

"Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day: teach a man to fish and he'll never go hungry."

Learn how chords are made and throw away the chord charts. There is no single, "comprehensive" chord chart that lists every chord in every inversion in every fingering.

As an aside, most "common" chord shapes can be slide up and down the neck, with or without a barre. If one is looking for the "common" chords, one only needs to learn a dozen or so shapes that can then be positioned anywhere along the fingerboard: one doesn't need chord charts for that.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by JonPR

Good point. Alt tunings need their own sets of chord shapes.

BTW, how do you tune your strings to O-R-K-N-E-Y?

Hi Jon

C, G, D, G, C, D

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi Jon

C, G, D, G, C, D

Yeah I knew that, I couldn't resist the joke.

[trion12]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

If you learn how chords are made (which you could do in a month, if you work on it every day) you will know every chord imaginable.

+1
The only chord chart that matters is the one in your head.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by JonPR

Good point. Alt tunings need their own sets of chord shapes.

BTW, how do you tune your strings to O-R-K-N-E-Y?

Lol. One of my favorite guitarist is actually from Orkney, Scotland. (Stephen Wake)