Guitar chords by difficulty

All 228 guitar shapes in three bands: open, with a stretch, with a barre. The effort is calculated — from fingers, barre, stretch, position and muted strings.

A ranking from one to two hundred and forty would be wrong here: whether a shape with four fingers and two muted strings is easier than one with a barre is decided by the hand, not the table. Three bands say as much as can be said. Within a band the calculated effort stands alongside, so that shapes can be compared.

Open shapes (85)

Few fingers, no bar across the strings, no wide reach. This is where you start.

Chord	Type	Effort
Cmaj9	major ninth	1
A7	dominant seventh	2
Em	minor	2
Am7b5	half-diminished	2
Asus2	sus2	2
D6	sixth	2
Ddim7	diminished seventh	2
E7sus4	7sus4	2
Em9	minor ninth	2
G#dim7	diminished seventh	2
A	major	3
E7	dominant seventh	3
Am7	minor seventh	3
A13	thirteenth	3
A7sus4	7sus4	3
B7sus4	7sus4	3
Baug	augmented	3
Ddim	diminished	3
Dm6	minor sixth	3
Dsus2	sus2	3
Em6	minor sixth	3
Esus4	sus4	3
G#m7b5	half-diminished	3
G6	sixth	3
Gmaj9	major ninth	3
Gsus2	sus2	3
G	major	4
D	major	4
E	major	4
D7	dominant seventh	4
Am	minor	4
Amaj7	major seventh	4
Cmaj7	major seventh	4
Emaj7	major seventh	4
Gmaj7	major seventh	4
Adim	diminished	4
Asus4	sus4	4
B6	sixth	4
Bb9	ninth	4
Bbdim7	diminished seventh	4
Bdim	diminished	4
Bm9	minor ninth	4
C9	ninth	4
Cadd9	add9	4
Daug	augmented	4
Dm9	minor ninth	4
Dsus4	sus4	4
E13	thirteenth	4
E9	ninth	4
Eb9	ninth	4
Edim7	diminished seventh	4
Fdim7	diminished seventh	4
Fm7b5	half-diminished	4
Fmaj9	major ninth	4
G9	ninth	4
Gadd9	add9	4
C	major	5
G7	dominant seventh	5
B7	dominant seventh	5
Dm	minor	5
Bm7b5	half-diminished	5
F#m7b5	half-diminished	5
Aadd9	add9	5
Adim7	diminished seventh	5
Am6	minor sixth	5
Bbm7b5	half-diminished	5
Bm6	minor sixth	5
C#dim7	diminished seventh	5
Cdim7	diminished seventh	5
Cm7b5	half-diminished	5
Csus2	sus2	5
D7sus4	7sus4	5
E6	sixth	5
Eadd9	add9	5
Ebdim	diminished	5
Ebdim7	diminished seventh	5
Edim	diminished	5
Emaj9	major ninth	5
F#dim	diminished	5
F#m9	minor ninth	5
Fdim	diminished	5
Fm6	minor sixth	5
Fmaj7	major seventh	5
G13	thirteenth	5
Gaug	augmented	5

With a stretch or a muted string (43)

No barre, but the hand has to spread or a string in the middle has to stay silent.

Chord	Type	Effort
C7	dominant seventh	6
Gm	minor	6
C#m7b5	half-diminished	6
Cm	minor	6
A9	ninth	6
Aaug	augmented	6
Abadd9	add9	6
Badd9	add9	6
Bbadd9	add9	6
Bbdim	diminished	6
C6	sixth	6
D13	thirteenth	6
Db6	sixth	6
Db7	dominant seventh	6
Eaug	augmented	6
Eb7	dominant seventh	6
Ebaug	augmented	6
F#aug	augmented	6
Fadd9	add9	6
Faug	augmented	6
G#m6	minor sixth	6
Gm9	minor ninth	6
Gsus4	sus4	6
C#m	minor	7
Eb	major	7
Absus2	sus2	7
Am9	minor ninth	7
Bbaug	augmented	7
Bbm6	minor sixth	7
Bbm9	minor ninth	7
C#dim	diminished	7
Cdim	diminished	7
Dbsus4	sus4	7
Eb7sus4	7sus4	7
Ebm	minor	7
Ebsus4	sus4	7
F#13	thirteenth	7
F#6	sixth	7
F#sus2	sus2	7
G#dim	diminished	7
Gdim	diminished	7
Gdim7	diminished seventh	7
Gm7b5	half-diminished	8

With a barre (100)

One finger lies flat across several strings while the others fret.

Chord	Type	Effort
Dmaj7	major seventh	2
Dm7b5	half-diminished	2
A6	sixth	3
Em7	minor seventh	5
Gm7	minor seventh	5
F#m7	minor seventh	5
Ab7	dominant seventh	5
Ab7sus4	7sus4	5
Ebm7b5	half-diminished	5
Fm7	minor seventh	5
Dm7	minor seventh	6
Bm7	minor seventh	6
Cm7	minor seventh	6
C#m7	minor seventh	6
Ebm7	minor seventh	6
Ebmaj7	major seventh	6
G#m7	minor seventh	6
Ab6	sixth	7
Abmaj9	major ninth	7
Bb6	sixth	7
Bbmaj9	major ninth	7
Em7b5	half-diminished	8
Amaj9	major ninth	8
Bb13	thirteenth	8
Bb7	dominant seventh	8
Bbm7	minor seventh	8
Caug	augmented	8
Csus4	sus4	8
Dbmaj9	major ninth	8
Dmaj9	major ninth	8
Eb6	sixth	8
Ebm6	minor sixth	8
Ebmaj9	major ninth	8
F#dim7	diminished seventh	8
G7sus4	7sus4	8
F#m	minor	9
F#7	dominant seventh	9
F7	dominant seventh	9
Ab	major	9
Ab9	ninth	9
Absus4	sus4	9
B9	ninth	9
Bb7sus4	7sus4	9
Bbsus2	sus2	9
Bsus2	sus2	9
Db9	ninth	9
Dbmaj7	major seventh	9
F#7sus4	7sus4	9
F7sus4	7sus4	9
Fm	minor	9
Fm9	minor ninth	9
F	major	10
B	major	10
Bm	minor	10
Bb	major	10
G#m	minor	10
F#	major	10
Bbm	minor	10
Bbmaj7	major seventh	10
Bdim7	diminished seventh	10
Bmaj7	major seventh	10
Bmaj9	major ninth	10
C#m6	minor sixth	10
C#m9	minor ninth	10
C7sus4	7sus4	10
Cm6	minor sixth	10
Cm9	minor ninth	10
D9	ninth	10
Db7sus4	7sus4	10
Dbsus2	sus2	10
Ebsus2	sus2	10
Esus2	sus2	10
F#9	ninth	10
F#add9	add9	10
F#m6	minor sixth	10
F#maj7	major seventh	10
F#maj9	major ninth	10
F#sus4	sus4	10
F13	thirteenth	10
F9	ninth	10
Fsus4	sus4	10
Gm6	minor sixth	10
Ab13	thirteenth	11
Abaug	augmented	11
Abmaj7	major seventh	11
B13	thirteenth	11
Bbsus4	sus4	11
Bsus4	sus4	11
C13	thirteenth	11
Dadd9	add9	11
Db	major	11
Db13	thirteenth	11
Dbadd9	add9	11
Ebadd9	add9	11
Ebm9	minor ninth	11
F6	sixth	11
Fsus2	sus2	11
G#m9	minor ninth	11
Dbaug	augmented	12
Eb13	thirteenth	12

Anotona does this for you

Photograph a page of sheet music or play the melody — Anotona finds the key, engraves the notes and transposes them into any other. Free.

See Anotona

Every note on this page is computed, not typed in — following the rule that also makes F# major spell its seventh degree E#, not F.