Each Fretscape chord diagram is a small chord box. The vertical lines are the strings, the horizontal lines are the frets, and the dots show where your fingers go. The string labels at the bottom (E A D G B E) tell you which string is which, and the small number beside the diagram tells you where the shape starts on the neck.

The six strings

Read the strings left to right: low E, A, D, G, B, high E. Fretscape uses the standard chord-chart order — low E on the left, high E on the right — and the string names sit under the diagram by default so you don't have to keep them in your head.

Left-handed mode reverses that order: high E on the left, low E on the right, so the picture matches a left-handed neck.

The frets

If the diagram starts at the nut, the top line is the nut. If the shape sits higher up the neck, the small number beside the diagram tells you which fret the top line is. The horizontal lines below are the frets — a dot inside a fret means press that string down there.

A diagram with 8 next to it starts at the 8th fret — the top of the diagram is the 8th fret, not the nut. If there's no number, the diagram starts at the nut. In left-handed mode, the fret number sits on the right side of the diagram instead of the left.

X, O, and the dots

Above the diagram, each string gets one of three things:

• X — don't play this string. Mute it, or just don't strum it.
• O — play this string open (no finger on it).
• Nothing — the string is fretted; look down the column for the dot.

The dots themselves are filled circles on the strings. By default, each dot shows the finger number you'd use to play that note — 1 for index, 2 for middle, 3 for ring, 4 for pinky. You can switch the dots to show the actual note name (C, E, G) or the interval (R, 3, 5) instead, depending on how you like to think about chords.

When a string rings open and you're in Notes or Intervals mode, Fretscape shows a lighter circle at the top of the diagram with the note name or interval inside — so even an open string tells you which note or interval it's contributing. In Fingers mode, open strings show just the O symbol with no inner label, because there's no finger to name.

Tuning

The tuning name sits in the top-left corner of the diagram — usually Standard. If you've changed your tuning, the label updates so you can see at a glance which tuning the diagram is built for. See the tunings and capo help for how to switch.

Reading the rest of the card

Around the diagram, the voicing card shows a few extras:

• A difficulty label (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced) — the rating of the easiest fingering for this shape.
• Shape tags underneath (Open, Movable, High Position, Compact, Incomplete, and others) — quick descriptions of what kind of voicing this is.
• Small action buttons — play, add to favourites, add to a progression, and open in Reverse Lookup.

Tap the card itself to open the voicing details, where you'll see the sounding notes, the degrees, the inversion, the fret pattern, and every fingering option Fretscape has rated for that shape, along with short tag explanations under About This Fingering.