About this issue
Why this chart.
If you're just starting out, ignore the bigger charts. This Beginner Chord Chart is the minimum viable harmonic vocabulary: ten chords that get you through hundreds of songs.
We've intentionally left off F major (the gateway barre chord that frustrates most beginners) and any minor 7th or extended chords. The point isn't to be comprehensive — it's to get you playing real music in the first week. Em, C, G, D, A, Am, Dm, E, and a couple of others. That's it.
Print this and tape it next to your guitar. Practice transitioning between any two chords on the chart until you can do it in under a second. Then add a strumming pattern. Then play a song. The journey from never having held a guitar to playing your first song should take a week, not a year.
How to use it
Pick three chords. Practice transitioning between them with a metronome. Add the next chord when the first three feel automatic. Don't try to learn all ten at once.