Mandolin chords chart

Mandolin chords with diagrams (G D A E tuning): 20 chord types in all 12 keys, in several positions, with fingering and a mandolin sound to listen to.

240 chords
Fingering for every shape
Listen to every chord
Left-handed view

Photo: Brooke Balentine, Unsplash

First chords to learn on mandolin

With these you can play most beginner songs.

G major (G)C major (C)D major (D)A major (A)E minor (Em)A minor (Am)D dominant seventh (D7)E major (E)F major (F)

Basic chords on mandolin

Root	major	minor	dominant seventh	major seventh	minor seventh
C	C	Cm	C7	Cmaj7	Cm7
C♯	C♯	C♯m	C♯7	C♯maj7	C♯m7
D	D	Dm	D7	Dmaj7	Dm7
E♭	E♭	E♭m	E♭7	E♭maj7	E♭m7
E	E	Em	E7	Emaj7	Em7
F	F	Fm	F7	Fmaj7	Fm7
F♯	F♯	F♯m	F♯7	F♯maj7	F♯m7
G	G	Gm	G7	Gmaj7	Gm7
A♭	A♭	A♭m	A♭7	A♭maj7	A♭m7
A	A	Am	A7	Amaj7	Am7
B♭	B♭	B♭m	B♭7	B♭maj7	B♭m7
B	B	Bm	B7	Bmaj7	Bm7

Sus and power chords on mandolin

Root	sus2	sus4	7sus4
C	Csus2	Csus4	C7sus4
C♯	C♯sus2	C♯sus4	C♯7sus4
D	Dsus2	Dsus4	D7sus4
E♭	E♭sus2	E♭sus4	E♭7sus4
E	Esus2	Esus4	E7sus4
F	Fsus2	Fsus4	F7sus4
F♯	F♯sus2	F♯sus4	F♯7sus4
G	Gsus2	Gsus4	G7sus4
A♭	A♭sus2	A♭sus4	A♭7sus4
A	Asus2	Asus4	A7sus4
B♭	B♭sus2	B♭sus4	B♭7sus4
B	Bsus2	Bsus4	B7sus4

Sixth and add chords on mandolin

Root	sixth	minor sixth	add9
C	C6	Cm6	Cadd9
C♯	C♯6	C♯m6	C♯add9
D	D6	Dm6	Dadd9
E♭	E♭6	E♭m6	E♭add9
E	E6	Em6	Eadd9
F	F6	Fm6	Fadd9
F♯	F♯6	F♯m6	F♯add9
G	G6	Gm6	Gadd9
A♭	A♭6	A♭m6	A♭add9
A	A6	Am6	Aadd9
B♭	B♭6	B♭m6	B♭add9
B	B6	Bm6	Badd9

Diminished and augmented on mandolin

Root	diminished	augmented	diminished seventh	half-diminished
C	Cdim	Caug	Cdim7	Cm7b5
C♯	C♯dim	C♯aug	C♯dim7	C♯m7b5
D	Ddim	Daug	Ddim7	Dm7b5
E♭	E♭dim	E♭aug	E♭dim7	E♭m7b5
E	Edim	Eaug	Edim7	Em7b5
F	Fdim	Faug	Fdim7	Fm7b5
F♯	F♯dim	F♯aug	F♯dim7	F♯m7b5
G	Gdim	Gaug	Gdim7	Gm7b5
A♭	A♭dim	A♭aug	A♭dim7	A♭m7b5
A	Adim	Aaug	Adim7	Am7b5
B♭	B♭dim	B♭aug	B♭dim7	B♭m7b5
B	Bdim	Baug	Bdim7	Bm7b5

Ninths, elevenths, thirteenths on mandolin

Root	dominant ninth	minor ninth	major ninth	eleventh	thirteenth
C	C9	Cm9	Cmaj9	C11	C13
C♯	C♯9	C♯m9	C♯maj9	C♯11	C♯13
D	D9	Dm9	Dmaj9	D11	D13
E♭	E♭9	E♭m9	E♭maj9	E♭11	E♭13
E	E9	Em9	Emaj9	E11	E13
F	F9	Fm9	Fmaj9	F11	F13
F♯	F♯9	F♯m9	F♯maj9	F♯11	F♯13
G	G9	Gm9	Gmaj9	G11	G13
A♭	A♭9	A♭m9	A♭maj9	A♭11	A♭13
A	A9	Am9	Amaj9	A11	A13
B♭	B♭9	B♭m9	B♭maj9	B♭11	B♭13
B	B9	Bm9	Bmaj9	B11	B13

Frequently asked questions

How do I tune a mandolin?

G D A E from low to high – like a violin, except every note is a pair of strings. You always fret and pick the pair together.

What are chop chords?

Closed, four-finger mandolin shapes with no open strings, played as short, muted strokes on beats 2 and 4 in bluegrass. Our higher-position shapes are closed shapes of this kind.