Here are the chord form sheets for all of the common keys that you might want to play on your cigar box guitar. These are all for 3-string cigar box guitars tuned to Open G “GDG”.
This single post replaces the separate posts we used to have for all of these, to make it easier to find what you need. All of these sheets were created by C. B. Gitty and are presented for free personal and educational use. They are not to be used for commercial purposes without permission.
For help on how to make use of these chord forms, click this link to view the guide:
How to Read and Use Cigar Box Guitar Chord Forms PDF.
Click the images below to view the printable PDFs. The sheets are presented in musical order starting with A and proceeding through G.
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Thank you so much for all your time and work putting into this trove of great information!! I will be coming back many many many times!!
Michele
I do not have the use of my index finger on the left hand. Is there any short cuts I could use to play a three string?
Hiya, I like my 3 string to be e b e instead of gdg. Is there a chord chart for the ebe tuning? I do not understand this “music stuff”. Just somewhat. If the fingering is a C chord on a gdg tuning, is that same chord shape like maybe a G chord in ebe tuning?
For me it’s easier to hold the strings down on the ebe tuning. Especially up the neck. Up the neck on a gdg is terrible hard to hold a chord shape down. And I hear that the loser tuning,ebe, is easier on the neck and will add longevity to the guitar neck over time. Strings not pulling as hard and bending the neck up.
But please help me with the first paragraph up top. The chord stuff. thanks, Ed PS: I have ordered supplies for my guitar from CB Gitty. I have only built on 3 string so far. I started messing with ukuleles when I was 65 and have made 2 tenors from stewmac kits. I am 71 now and have not made a great deal of progress…and my jaw drops when I see all these other players playing the daylights out of stringed instruments. I’ll never be one of those folks, but I do like to try to play by stuff I print off the internet for ukulele.
RE: Left handed chord chart: You can make one pretty easily. If you scroll so the above chart is totally on your screen, you can do a screen shot. Open it in Paint. Copy'(window select around just the A chart) “A”. Paste that into a new Paint window. Box/select that new image. Go to “ROTATE”. Then flip it horizontally. The words will be backwards, so will the chart. Save it as “A Chords”. Then do it all again, grabbing the next block, Bb. It’ll take you probably 1 1/2 minutes each.
Hey there, Kurt. That’s a great request. City of New Orleans is now on our shortlist of songs to tab. Thank you!
Any chance a tab could be created for Arlo Guthrie’s City of New Orleans?
Thanks Geoff!
Unfortunately we do not have a left-handed chart. The chords are the same, just reversed so you could use still use this one as reference.
Hi
Do you know where I can get a left handed chord chart, please? My three strings are tuned to gdg.
Excellent resource page!
Not at this time, unfortunately. There is a book specific to Open G 4-string available on CBGitty.com though: https://www.cbgitty.com/books-cds-posters-more/books/4-string-cigar-box-guitar-the-ultimate-collection-how-to-play-book-by-brent-robitaille/
Is there a set of these Open-G chord forms for the 4-string in PDF as well?
What are the most common chords used on a cigbox.
I have the power chords down. But what are the common , most used chords?
Thanks much.
kB
There is a way, but it takes some stretching. Fminor is made up of F, A flat and C. This can be played in the first position if you fret the top (low G) string at the 5th fret, the middle (D) string at the third fret and the bottom (high G) string at the first fret. On a 25-inch scale this requires a pretty good stretch, but it is doable with some practice. An easier slightly cheating way to get an Fminor sound would be to barre the top and bottom strings at the first fret and then fret the middle string at the 3rd fret. This would give you Aflat | F | Aflat, which is Fminor without the C.
Great site, so much info, Thank you! I have a question: is there a way of getting to the F minor chord without going to the 10th fret?Thanks again. Richard
If you click on the individual chart images, it will open up a larger, print-able PDF document.
Great chart, but it too small to read or print. Is it available in a better form?
Hi thanks for your generous offer for the chord forms for the 3 string guitar.
Can I print them out in a larger format?
I can’t believe I have this gold mine of guitar playing. I have wanted to play forever but my fingers are short and stubby. Perhaps the three string is my dream cone true to play wild haunting blues, like John Campbell did before he passed away. I will do anything to get that haunting sound.