Mandolin Chord Finder

Standard mandolin tuning is G–D–A–E, low to high, in fifths. Each of the four courses is a pair of strings tuned in unison, which is why a mandolin has eight strings but only four notes to fret.

Vertical lines are the four courses, G on the left and E on the right. Horizontal lines are frets. A numbered dot is a finger (1 is the index finger), a circle above the grid is an open course, and × means that course is not played. A number like “5fr” on the left tells you the grid starts at the fifth fret instead of the nut.

A chop chord is a closed, four–finger shape with no open courses, so it can slide up the neck to any root and it stops ringing the moment you release it. It is the percussive backbeat sound of bluegrass rhythm mandolin.

Yes. The diagrams on this page are generated directly from ChordSeek: Mandolin Chords, using the same voicing engine, so what you see here is exactly what the app shows.