Guitar Lesson One  Playing rock chords (using whole notes)

Understanding the chord box diagram


Throughout the course we will be representing the neck of the guitar (fretboard) using diagrams. The most widely used diagram is that of a chord box.

To illustrate how a chord box works, you can see that there is a picture of the neck of an electric guitar alongside a chord box.

The vertical lines on the chord box represent the strings of the guitar and the horizontal lines represent the frets (fret markers) of the guitar.

Now look at the top of the chord box. String number six (6), is called the E string and is closest to you when you look down at your guitar. This string has the lowest note in terms of pitch and is therefore called the bottom string. String number one (1) is therefore the top string [highest in pitch].

Figure 1. Chord box

Figure 1. Chord box

Next: Understanding the guitar fretboard