Cigar Box Guitar Chord Shape Diagrams: Beginner Tips

If you are moving on from one finger barre chords you may be wondering how chord shape diagrams work for a Cigar Box Guitar. Here are my beginner tips:

These diagrams are drawn with the strings running vertically and the frets horizontally.
If you have a three string guitar, make sure that your chord chart has three strings showing.
The left hand string is the thickest string.
This is the lowest sounding string, the bass string, and is often called the bottom string although it is the string nearest the ceiling when you play.
The right hand string is the thinnest string and has the highest sounding pitch.

The chord diagram should tell you which notes the strings are, but if there is no indication assume that the strings are tuned G D G as this is the most common tuning.
The top of the chord chart shows the 1st fret which is the fret nearest to the headstock and machine heads/ tuning pegs.
Numbers written on the strings( often in a circle) indicate which finger to use to fret that string.
A thick line shown across all frets, sometimes shown as one one one is showing a barred fret.
If the suggested fingering is awkward for you, feel free to substitute an alternative fingering.

If the chord is played high up on the fretboard there may be an indication that one of the lower frets is in fact not the first or second fret, but e.g. the fourth or fifth fret.
Sometimes it is easier to barre a fret and add other fingers higher up the fretboard, so experiment with what feels comfortable for you.

In open tuning such as G D G, chord diagrams can be flipped because the top and bottom strings are the same note names, helpful if you are left-handed.
These chords are called inversions because the notes are in a different order

If your guitar is tuned to an open fifths tuning like G D G, the chord shape can be flipped so that the note on the bottom string and top string are exchanged. The chord will sound different because the bass note and top note have swapped over. Because the notes are being played in a different order, this is called an inversion.
Other inversions are possible where for instance the note on the middle string and bass string are swapped.

Here are some chord diagram examples to illustrate the above points:

Videos

If you’d like to see some videos of learning chords, look at my YouTube channel:

Cigar Box Guitar Chord Shape Diagrams: Beginner Tips

Further Reading

Videos

Recent Posts