Is this mandolin chord chart useful for beginners?

With root G, quality major and frets 0 to 5, the first shape is 0 0 2 3. The four numbers give fret positions in G D A E course order; 0 means an open course. That shape sounds G D B G. The interval labels describe chord tones, not finger numbers.

What does the fret span setting do?

Span counts from the lowest fretted note to the highest, inclusively, excluding open courses. For 0 0 2 3, the span is two frets. The buttons limit the search to spans of 2, 3, 4 or 5 frets. A smaller span limits the stretch, but does not guarantee that a shape fits a particular hand.

Can I see the same chord further up the neck?

The first and last fret fields accept whole numbers from 0 to 24. Shapes are ordered by smallest span, then lowest fretted position, then most open courses. At most 24 shapes are displayed for one chord. If more match, the count shows both the displayed count and the total. A narrower fret window can reveal different shapes.

Which chords can it chart?

The root menu has twelve notes and the quality menu has 10 entries: major, minor, seventh, major seventh, minor seventh, sixth, sus2, sus4, diminished and augmented. Every triad shape includes all three chord tones. Seventh and sixth shapes may omit the fifth, and name the omitted note when they do. The chart uses standard tuning and sounds all four courses; it has no muted-course shapes.

Why does a note read D# when my chord book prints Eb?

Output note names use sharps throughout. For example, this chart names the tones of F seventh as F A C D#. D# and Eb identify the same pitch class here, but the chart does not provide key-specific chord spelling.

Is there a two-finger or barre chord filter?

There is no finger-count or barre filter. The search finds fret positions, and does not choose which finger presses each course. A narrow span alone does not make a shape a two-finger chord. The diagrams also do not mark barres.

Does the chart work for a left-handed player?

The handedness button mirrors the diagram and the printed shapes. The low G course moves to the right, along with its dots, open marks and note labels. Written fret numbers, notes and intervals remain in G D A E order.

Can I print the chart or copy it?

Print chart opens the browser print dialog for the displayed shapes, laid out four to a row in black on white. Copy sends the selected shape to the clipboard as text, including courses, frets, notes, intervals and span. If clipboard access is blocked, a message explains how to select and copy the text.

Does this create a downloadable PDF chord chart?

The page does not generate a PDF download. A PDF can be saved if the browser print dialog offers a Save as PDF destination. The printed sheet contains shapes of the selected chord, rather than a collection of different chord names.

Mandolin Chord Chart

Use this free browser chart to compare mandolin chord shapes in standard GDAE tuning. Set a root, quality, fret range and span to see matching notes and intervals. The shapes are computed from the tuning rather than fetched as chord pictures.

G majorfretsspan

G major (G)
tuning GDAE, right handed

  G  D  A  E
  0  0  2  3

shorthand  0023
notes      G D B G
intervals  R 5 3 R
span       2 frets, lowest fret 2

4 shapes fit frets 0 to 5 with a span of 4 or less, the most compact first.

Chord

G major (G)

Shape

0 0 2 3

Span

2 frets

Shapes

G major is G B D. Every shape here sounds all three of those notes, on all four courses.

G major, frets 0 to 5the first shape most players learn
0 0 2 3, 4 shapes
Left handedthe same chord, mirrored
drawn E A D G
Frets 0 to 12the same chord, further up the neck
0 0 2 3, 14 shapes

How to read the diagram. The four pairs of vertical lines are the courses, the low G on the left, and each pair is the two strings tuned alike that you press together. The heavy line across the top is the nut; a shape further up the neck loses it and says which fret its first box is, like 7fr. A dot is a note to press on that course, and the letter in it is what that note is against the root: R the root, 3 the third, 5 the fifth, b7 a flat seventh. Which finger takes which dot is yours to choose: the chart does not guess it. An o above a course means it rings open, and every shape here sounds all four courses. The letters under the diagram are the notes the shape sounds, computed from the open strings, which is why they change with the chord and never with the picture. Notes are named with sharps throughout, so the flat seventh of F reads D# rather than the Eb a songbook might print.

Common questions

Is this mandolin chord chart useful for beginners?: With root G, quality major and frets 0 to 5, the first shape is 0 0 2 3. The four numbers give fret positions in G D A E course order; 0 means an open course. That shape sounds G D B G. The interval labels describe chord tones, not finger numbers.
What does the fret span setting do?: Span counts from the lowest fretted note to the highest, inclusively, excluding open courses. For 0 0 2 3, the span is two frets. The buttons limit the search to spans of 2, 3, 4 or 5 frets. A smaller span limits the stretch, but does not guarantee that a shape fits a particular hand.
Can I see the same chord further up the neck?: The first and last fret fields accept whole numbers from 0 to 24. Shapes are ordered by smallest span, then lowest fretted position, then most open courses. At most 24 shapes are displayed for one chord. If more match, the count shows both the displayed count and the total. A narrower fret window can reveal different shapes.
Which chords can it chart?: The root menu has twelve notes and the quality menu has 10 entries: major, minor, seventh, major seventh, minor seventh, sixth, sus2, sus4, diminished and augmented. Every triad shape includes all three chord tones. Seventh and sixth shapes may omit the fifth, and name the omitted note when they do. The chart uses standard tuning and sounds all four courses; it has no muted-course shapes.
Why does a note read D# when my chord book prints Eb?: Output note names use sharps throughout. For example, this chart names the tones of F seventh as F A C D#. D# and Eb identify the same pitch class here, but the chart does not provide key-specific chord spelling.
Is there a two-finger or barre chord filter?: There is no finger-count or barre filter. The search finds fret positions, and does not choose which finger presses each course. A narrow span alone does not make a shape a two-finger chord. The diagrams also do not mark barres.
Does the chart work for a left-handed player?: The handedness button mirrors the diagram and the printed shapes. The low G course moves to the right, along with its dots, open marks and note labels. Written fret numbers, notes and intervals remain in G D A E order.
Can I print the chart or copy it?: Print chart opens the browser print dialog for the displayed shapes, laid out four to a row in black on white. Copy sends the selected shape to the clipboard as text, including courses, frets, notes, intervals and span. If clipboard access is blocked, a message explains how to select and copy the text.
Does this create a downloadable PDF chord chart?: The page does not generate a PDF download. A PDF can be saved if the browser print dialog offers a Save as PDF destination. The printed sheet contains shapes of the selected chord, rather than a collection of different chord names.

Shapes are computed from the notes each chord needs on standard GDAE tuning, within the fret range and span you set. Each string here is a course of two strings tuned alike, which is why a shape shows four positions rather than eight.