🎸 Reverse guitar chord lookup tool
Guitar Chord Identifier
Identify the name of any guitar chord from fret positions, open strings, muted strings, or notes. Enter the shape you are playing and see the likely chord name, notes, intervals, formula, root note, bass note, and possible alternate names.
- Reverse chord lookup
- Fret-position input
- Open and muted strings
- Notes and intervals
- Root and bass note
- No audio upload required
Example chord result
IdentifiedString shape Standard tuning
- C
- E
- G
- Root: C
- Bass: C
Important: For the button to work, your Main Tool section must include this exact ID: guitar-chord-identifier-tool.
Reverse guitar chord lookup
Guitar Chord Identifier
Enter a guitar shape, fret positions, open strings, muted strings, or notes to identify the most likely chord name and understand the chord formula, notes, intervals, root, and bass note.
Note mode is useful when you already know the notes but not the chord name. Bass-note detection is clearest in fret-shape mode.
Manual chord identification does not require microphone access, audio upload, or account signup.
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Start with the shape
How to Use the Guitar Chord Identifier
Use the identifier when you already have a guitar shape, fret pattern, or group of notes but do not know the chord name. Enter what you are playing, then read the likely chord name and theory details.
Add the fret position for each guitar string in standard E–A–D–G–B–E tuning.
Use 0 when a string rings open. Open strings count as chord notes and can change the result.
Mark strings as muted when they are not played. Muted strings should not count in the chord name.
Review the detected notes before trusting the chord name. One wrong string can change the answer.
Use the likely chord name, formula, intervals, root note, and bass note to understand the result.
Some note sets have more than one possible name. Learn the basics in How to Identify Guitar Chords.
Frets to notes to names
How Guitar Chord Identification Works
A guitar chord identifier converts fret positions into notes, ignores muted strings, includes open strings, then compares the note set with common chord formulas. The result depends on notes, intervals, root, bass note, and musical context.
Guitar shapes are physical patterns. Chord names come from the notes inside those shapes and how those notes relate to a likely root note.
- String and fret positions create individual notes.
- Open strings are included when they ring.
- Muted strings are removed from the note set.
- The notes are compared with chord formulas.
- The bass note can create slash chord possibilities.
Each fret raises the open string pitch by semitones, producing the note played on that string.
The tool collects the sounding notes and removes duplicates for chord matching.
Notes are tested against formulas such as 1–3–5, 1–♭3–5, or 1–3–5–♭7.
The root is the note that best explains the chord formula and chord name.
The lowest sounding string can affect inversions and slash chord labels.
When the note set is ambiguous, the identifier can show more than one reasonable chord name.
Understand the output
How to Read Your Chord Result
The result is more useful when you understand each field. The chord name is the quick answer, but the notes, intervals, formula, root, bass note, and alternate names explain why the tool chose that answer.
| Result field | Meaning | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Chord name | The most likely name of the selected note set. | Use it for practice, tabs, songwriting, and communication. |
| Chord symbol | The short written label, such as C, Am, G7, or D/F♯. | Helps you write the chord clearly in a chart or progression. |
| Notes | The actual notes created by the selected strings. | Shows what your guitar shape is really producing. |
| Root note | The note the chord is named from. | Explains the main identity of the chord. |
| Bass note | The lowest sounding note in the shape. | Can turn a chord into a slash chord or inversion. |
| Formula | The interval structure, such as 1–3–5 or 1–♭3–5–♭7. | Explains whether the chord is major, minor, seventh, sus, or another type. |
| Alternate names | Other possible names for the same notes. | Useful when the chord depends on song key or progression context. |
Chord theory basics
Notes, Intervals, Root Notes, and Bass Notes
A chord result is built from several connected ideas. Notes show the actual pitches, intervals explain distance from the root, the root names the chord, and the bass note shows what is sounding lowest.
Notes are the actual pitches created by the strings you play, such as C, E, and G.
Intervals describe the distance from the root note, such as major third or perfect fifth.
The root is the note the chord is named from, even if it is not the lowest note.
The bass note is the lowest sounding note in your guitar shape.
A formula names the interval pattern, such as 1–3–5 for major or 1–♭3–5 for minor.
A slash chord appears when the written chord and the lowest bass note are different.
Guitar-specific input
Open Strings, Muted Strings, and Fret Positions
Guitar chord identification depends on which strings actually ring. An open string counts as a chord tone, a muted string is ignored, and a fretted string creates a note based on the string tuning and fret number.
| Input type | Meaning | Effect on the result |
|---|---|---|
| Open string | A string rings without pressing a fret. | Counts as a chord note and may change the chord name. |
| Muted string | A string is not played or is intentionally blocked. | Ignored by the identifier because it does not sound. |
| Fretted string | A finger presses the string at a selected fret. | Adds the note found at that fret position. |
| Lowest ringing string | The lowest-pitched note that actually sounds. | Can affect the bass note, inversion, or slash chord label. |
| Repeated note | The same note appears on more than one string. | Usually changes the voicing more than the chord identity. |
A ringing open string can add an important chord tone or create an unexpected extension.
A muted string should be excluded because the listener does not hear that note.
Each fret moves the string upward by one semitone, which changes the note used for identification.
- Open strings
- Muted strings
- Fret positions
- Standard tuning
- Lowest sounding note
- Chord voicing
Chord naming context
Why One Guitar Shape Can Have Multiple Chord Names
Some guitar shapes can be named in more than one way because chord names depend on root choice, bass note, omitted notes, repeated notes, key context, and harmonic function. A chord identifier can show likely names, but the song often decides the clearest label.
Guitar voicings can repeat notes, omit notes, use open strings, or place a non-root note in the bass. These details can make the same shape look like more than one chord depending on the surrounding progression.
- The root may not be the lowest sounding note.
- A chord tone may be missing from the shape.
- Open strings may add extra color notes.
- The same pitch may have enharmonic spellings.
- The key and progression may suggest a clearer function.
The same note set can point to different roots when the musical context changes.
The lowest note can create an inversion or slash chord, such as C/E or G/B.
Open strings can add 7ths, 9ths, sus tones, or color notes that change the label.
Guitar voicings sometimes leave out chord tones, especially in compact shapes.
Enharmonic names can change based on key, even when the pitch sounds the same.
The surrounding chords often reveal the most useful chord name.
Chord families
Common Guitar Chord Types
Guitar chord types are identified by formulas. A small interval change can turn a chord from major to minor, suspended, diminished, augmented, or seventh.
| Chord type | Basic formula | Example notes | Common sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major | 1–3–5 | C–E–G | Stable, bright, resolved |
| Minor | 1–♭3–5 | A–C–E | Darker, softer, emotional |
| Power chord | 1–5 | E–B | Direct, strong, simple |
| Sus2 | 1–2–5 | D–E–A | Open, unresolved |
| Sus4 | 1–4–5 | D–G–A | Suspended, waiting to resolve |
| Dominant 7 | 1–3–5–♭7 | G–B–D–F | Tense, bluesy, directional |
| Major 7 | 1–3–5–7 | C–E–G–B | Smooth, colorful, jazzy |
| Minor 7 | 1–♭3–5–♭7 | A–C–E–G | Warm, flexible, soulful |
| Diminished | 1–♭3–♭5 | B–D–F | Tense, unstable |
| Augmented | 1–3–♯5 | C–E–G♯ | Bright, floating, unresolved |
Trust and limits
Accuracy, Privacy, and Limitations
The Guitar Chord Identifier is a practical theory-based lookup tool. It can identify likely chord names from notes or fret positions, but some guitar shapes are musically ambiguous.
The clearest chord name may depend on the key, progression, bass note, omitted notes, repeated notes, and how the chord functions in a song.
- Manual chord identification does not require audio upload.
- Microphone access is not required for manual fret or note input.
- Muted strings are ignored when they do not sound.
- Open strings count as chord tones when they ring.
- Advanced jazz, altered, or incomplete chords may need musical context.
Manual chord lookup can work from fret or note input without uploading recorded audio.
The standard identifier uses manual input instead of listening to your guitar.
A muted string should be excluded because it does not contribute to the chord sound.
Open strings can add important notes, extensions, or alternate interpretations.
Repeated notes can change the sound without changing the basic chord name.
Some results depend on the song key, bass movement, and surrounding chord progression.
Quick answers
Guitar Chord Identifier FAQ
These answers explain how to identify guitar chords from frets, notes, open strings, muted strings, root notes, bass notes, and chord formulas.
A guitar chord identifier is a reverse chord lookup tool. You enter notes or fret positions, and the tool suggests the most likely chord name.
Enter each string’s fret number, mark open strings as open, and mark strings you do not play as muted. The identifier converts the shape into notes and compares them with chord formulas.
Yes. If an open string rings, it counts as a chord tone and can change the chord name.
No. Muted strings are not sounded, so they should be excluded from the chord result.
The same note set can sometimes fit more than one chord name depending on root, bass note, key, and harmonic function.
The root is the note the chord is named from. The bass note is the lowest sounding note in the guitar shape.
A slash chord shows a chord name followed by a bass note, such as C/E or G/B.
The standard manual identifier uses fret or note input. Do not treat it as audio chord recognition unless audio detection is specifically built into the plugin.
Yes. Identifying an unknown shape helps you write accurate chord symbols for songs, tabs, progressions, and practice notes.
Visit the full FAQ or learn from Guitar Chord Theory.
Learning hub
Learn More About Guitar Chords and Fretboard Theory
After identifying a chord, learn how guitar chords are built, how fretboard notes work, why shapes move across the neck, and how chord types connect to progressions.
Learn what makes several notes function together as a guitar chord.
How to Identify Guitar ChordsUnderstand the full process from fret positions to chord names.
Guitar Chord NamesLearn how chord symbols such as C, Am, G7, and D/F♯ are named.
Guitar Chord TheoryStudy formulas, intervals, roots, bass notes, and harmonic context.
Guitar String NotesLearn the notes on each string and how frets change pitch.
Fretboard NotesUse fretboard knowledge to understand chord shapes faster.
Guitar Chord ChartBrowse common chord shapes and compare them with identified results.
Chord DictionaryLook up chord families, symbols, and definitions in one place.
Chord VoicingsLearn why the same chord can appear in different shapes and registers.
Guitar Chord ShapesUnderstand how shapes organize chords across the fretboard.
Chord Inversions GuitarSee how bass notes and voicings change chord interpretation.
Slash Chords GuitarLearn how chords such as C/E and G/B are named and used.
About the tool
Author and Editorial Trust Strip
This Guitar Chord Identifier is designed as a practical music theory tool for guitar players, songwriters, students, and teachers. The goal is to make chord naming easier to understand by showing the likely chord name alongside the notes, intervals, root, bass note, formula, and possible alternate interpretations.
The page explains chord identification instead of only giving a one-word answer.
Chord names are explained through notes, intervals, roots, formulas, and bass notes.
The page explains that some guitar shapes need key or progression context.
Manual chord lookup does not require audio upload or microphone access.
The homepage is structured with clear headings, readable text, and responsive layouts.
The site provides supporting pages for how the tool works, editorial standards, and author information.