Triad
Seventh
Suspended
Extended
Added
~Find that Mandolin Chart~
How to Play a Mandolin Chord?
MandoTabs brings you the ultimate online mandolin chord referencing tool! Very advanced, extremely easy to use and above all completely free. Pick a root note at the top and choose the chord variation you're looking for. The chord will pop up on the mandolin fretboard and diagrams will appear below. Use the arrows in the headstock to look for an alternative playing position. Cool, isn't it? Default tuning is GDAE (standard tuning).
LOOKING FOR A CHORD?
Select a Root Note
TRIAD
SEVENTH
SUSPENDED
EXTENDED
ADDED
MANDOLIN CHORD DIAGRAMS
Triad
Seventh
Suspended
Extended
Added
Triad
Seventh
Suspended
Extended
Added
Triad
Seventh
Suspended
Extended
Added
Triad
Seventh
Suspended
Extended
Added
Triad
Seventh
Suspended
Extended
Added
Triad
Seventh
Suspended
Extended
Added
Triad
Seventh
Suspended
Extended
Added
Triad
Seventh
Suspended
Extended
Added
Triad
Seventh
Suspended
Extended
Added
Triad
Seventh
Suspended
Extended
Added
Triad
Seventh
Suspended
Extended
Added
How do you read mandolin chord charts?
The MandoTabs mandolin chord diagrams are easy to understand while still containing a ton of information for advanced mandolin players. To read mandolin chord diagrams you should imagine there is a mandolin in front of you and you are looking at the fretboard with the headstock at the top. The strings are illustrated as vertical lines (from left to right G D A E string) and the frets are the horizontal lines.
The different chord shapes are represented by dots. Each dot represents the placement of your finger. In the example you can see an C major chord. So how should you place your fingers? You play the D - second - string at the second fret with your index finger and the A - third - string at the third fret with your middle finger. That little circle (o) at the top of the G and E strings means that you have to play that string open (i.e. not place a finger on it). This is a basic chord diagram and most of time you will see diagrams like this. However, in some cases you will see additional symbols.
Free downloadable charts
Below you can find the official and original MandoTabs mandolin chords charts. These have all main mandolin chord diagrams you can think of in standard tuning (GDAE). These are completely free to download and print but you are under no circumstances allowed to redistribute or sell them without permission.
A0 Poster Version
The first one is a print quality poster version in high resolution, A0 size (84 x 119 cm / 33 x 47 inches). Also printable in smaller sizes of course. Perfect for hanging on a wall, storing on mobile devices, computers… It allows you to have a quick overview of all the main mandolin chords. This is ideal for referencing.
A4 PDF Version
The second version is a PDF version in press quality with four pages. It also has all the main chords and is made to be printed on A4 sized paper so you can put it with your notes, in your case,…
What is a mandolin chord?
A chord is a a combination of harmonious pitches, or notes. Usually there are three or more notes in a chord. The word chord is derived from the French word for agreement, or accord. So, a music chord is simply multiple pitches sounding together in harmony. These chords are typically named after the note that you can hear most prominently. Below you can find an overview of the full name of each chord variation using X as generic root note.
- X, XM, Xmaj: major
- Xm, Xmin: minor
- Xaug, X+: augmentend
- Xdim, X°: diminished
- X7, Xdom7: dominant 7th
- Xm7, Xmin7: minor 7th
- Xmaj7, XM7: major 7th
- Xaug7, X+7: augmented 7th
- Xdim7, X°7: diminished 7th
- Xm7b5, Xmin7dim5: half-diminished 7th
- XmMaj7, XmM7, Xminmaj7: minor-major 7th
- Xsus2: 5th suspended 2nd
- Xsus4: 5th suspended 4th
- X7sus2: 7th suspended 2nd
- X7sus4: 7th suspended 4th
- X9, Xdom9: dominant 9th
- Xm9, min9: minor dominant 9th
- Xmaj9, XM9: major 9th
- X13, Xdom13: dominant 13th
- X5: major add 5
- X6: major add 6
- Xm6, Xmin6: minor add 6
- Xm9, Xmin9: minor dominant 9
- Xadd9: major add 9
- Xmadd9: minor add 9
