ChordMate Reference

Diagrams

ChordMate has two diagram styles for displaying chord voicings. The classic style is good for showing diagrams horizontally, as you would see the guitar while playing. The modern style is often used in books that show diagrams vertically. Each style supports left and right handed guitar, horizontal and vertical orientation, and arabic or roman fret numbers.

Classic

Each diagram represents four frets and six strings of a guitar, as you would see it if you held the fretboard in your left hand, and strummed with your right. (The high E string is on top and the low E is on the bottom).

The Roman Numeral above each diagram indicates the lowest fret used in the voicing. The chord voicing on the right should be played on the 5th - 8th frets. You can easily recognize diagrams of chords that use the first four frets of the fretboard because ChordMate replaces the Roman Numeral with a schematic view of guitar headstock, as in the diagram on the left.

Circles indicate where to place your fingers. If a string should be played "open," ChordMate draws a circle left of the lowest displayed fret, as in the leftmost diagram. Strings that should not be played at all have an X. Finally, the root note of the chord is drawn as a double circle.

Modern

Modern diagrams are similar to Classic, but they are more schematic. For example, the headstock becomes a black bar, and fret stipes become simple lines. Modern diagrams are especially designed to look good in vertical orientation where the Classic style may seem unnatural because of its closer resemblance to the real guitar.