When you run across a left handed guitar player on your friendly neighbourhood guitar forum asking for advice on starting out you always have the obligatory post from some genius who thinks he has the most important advice in the world to give. “Um…dude…the chord diagrams will be backwards…how will you figure out chords!?! ”
They act as if you need a PHD in particle physics in order to have the brain capacity to read something backwards…it’s pathetic. Chord diagrams are something you will use very briefly when starting guitar and then probably never look at again, afterall…once you learn a chord, that’s you learned it!
For those of you who are new to guitar and a little unsure, I have put together a simple left handed chord chart which shows you the essential open chords that every new guitarist should learn. The chart is interactive, so you can listen to the chord just be be sure you are playing it right. I’m confident that once you learn these you will have no problem reading normal chord charts and you’ll wonder why you found it so difficult in the first place! 
I may expand on this at a later date, but for now it shows the most common open chord shapes only. Click on the diagram to hear the chord to ensure you are playing it correctly!
Note: You will need Adobe Flash Player to view this, so if you are on an iPad or some other device incapable of displaying Flash here is a printable non-interactive version you can download
Give it a few seconds to load and see below for a quick explanation on how to read it correctly.
Explanation for Beginners
In case you are a complete beginner looking at these diagrams for the first time, let me briefly explain what they represent. The diagrams should be read as if you have your guitar standing up in front of you with the fretboard facing you.
The numbers located underneath the diagrams (1-4) are you finger numbers. Your fingers are numbered as the following:
- Index : 1
- Middle : 2
- Ring : 3
- Pinky : 4
- Thumb : T (thumb isn’t used in any of these basic chords)
The red dots indicate where you should place your fingers and the white dots tell you that the string should be played ‘open’, i.e do not fret any notes. An ‘X’ above a string indicates that the string should not be played.
Let me know if you feel I left out any important beginner’s chords! Make sure to also check out our free left handed powerchord chart!
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Hi. I’m new two playing guitar and of course, I’m left-handed.do you have any advice on easy-but-fun songs? Thanks.
I don’t know the style of music you like, but try Google for a never-ending list
http://bit.ly/M4r5JP
Hearing how the chord sounds seems to make placement of my fingers on the correct strings easier. My pinkie needs a little more strength though (it seems to have a mind all of its own); which makes B7 and C7 a challenge right now, but I am determined to get it. This chart is really cool
.
Thanks Kim
Holding a guitar right handed has never been an option; it just feels wrong, plain wrong. Yet, hold it left handed is as natural as breathing. I took an acoustic and reversed the strings for lefty playing. Maybe it should have other options for proper tone, but I’m just getting into it. I prefer to finger the chords in the established positions, rather than a reversed lefty way. Anyhow, if you’re a lefty, you’ll know it…..
Thanks for these charts! I am just starting out and was starting to feel overwhelmed. This was a big help. Thank you!
Guys I’m so stressd don’t knw if I’ll b able to do dis en I jst reversd the strings
Thanks for these charts. I’m starting all over again left handed. After playing for a few years right handed, an accident left me unable to play right handed due to tendor damage. The family is on me to start again at age 70 left handed. Haven’t gotten my new guitar yet, but I’m excited again about playing.
Wow this is helpful. Thank you thank you!
Finally, thank you sooo much for this page. I recently bought a lefty guitar online, and it arrived with no paperwork or anything, and as a beginner I have no idea what i am doing, so do finally find something like this is a really great help. All i need now is some simple songs to learn, so that when i have mastered the chords i can start practicing them. Much appreciation here!
I have a chord chart in front of me by Ron Middlebrook.He has x,s where you have O,s and O,s where you have X,s. Its a beginner chart for left hand Guitar. which ons is RIGHT?
This was very helpful, I haven’t picked up my guitar in 6 years, and I just couldn’t remember where my fingers were suppose to go. Thank you!
Hello i want to ask something about this song ‘Creed – One Last Breath .
do you know the chord ?