Chord Diagrams

Visual fingering charts for every common worship chord. Search or browse by type.

From Our Worship Team

Teaching chord shapes to new worship musicians

Every few months, a new guitarist joins our worship team — excited, passionate, but not yet fluent in all the chord shapes they'll need. The first thing we do is open this tool and walk through the essential chords one by one: G, C, D, Em, Am. Then the ones that come up in worship constantly but trip up beginners: Cadd9, G/B, Dsus4, Asus2. Seeing the fretboard diagram makes the difference between confusion and "oh, I get it."

We built this reference because we got tired of Googling chord diagrams on random guitar sites filled with ads. We wanted a clean, fast lookup designed for worship musicians — with the exact chords that actually appear in worship songs, not obscure jazz voicings that guitarists rarely use in a church context.

For barre chords: don't rush your new musicians. A clean G, C, and D played confidently does more for a worship service than a buzzing F barre chord played anxiously. Build the open chords first, then introduce barre shapes once the basics are solid and their finger strength has developed.

Guitar chord questions for worship players

What guitar chords should a beginner worship guitarist learn first?

Start with G, C, D, Em, and Am — these five open chords cover the majority of worship songs in the key of G and C. Once comfortable, add A, E, D, and their minor versions. Then learn Cadd9 and Dsus4, which appear constantly in modern worship. Barre chords (F, Bb, Bm) can come after the basics are solid.

What is a Cadd9 chord?

Cadd9 is a C major chord with an added 9th (D note). It's fingered by placing your ring and pinky fingers on the 3rd fret of the B and high E strings, with index on 2nd fret A string and middle on 2nd fret D string. Cadd9 appears in hundreds of worship songs and has a fuller, more open sound than a plain C chord.

How do I play a G/B chord?

G/B is a G chord with B as the bass note. Fret the B note on the 2nd fret of the A string (thumb or index finger), then play G, B, and high E open, with D string 2nd fret. It's commonly used as a passing chord between G and C, or G and Am, creating a smooth descending bassline — very common in worship music.

What is the difference between sus2 and sus4 chords?

Both are "suspended" chords that replace the 3rd of a chord with another note. Sus2 replaces it with the 2nd (e.g., Asus2 = A-B-E), creating an open, airy sound. Sus4 replaces it with the 4th (e.g., Dsus4 = D-G-A), creating tension that wants to resolve back to the root chord. Both are extremely common in worship music for creating space and movement.