The Ultimate Reference: 120 Mandolin Chords with Shapes

120 Mandolin Chords Every Player Should Know

Learning a broad set of mandolin chords gives you freedom to play many styles, accompany singers, and create interesting arrangements. This article organizes 120 essential mandolin chords into functional groups, explains fingering and voicings, and gives practice tips to make them usable in real songs.

Why 120 chords?

Mandolin players benefit from memorizing multiple positions, voicings, and inversions of common chords. Different voicings suit different musical contexts: rhythm, fills, lead lines, and transitions. Covering 120 chords ensures you’ll have open-position shapes, movable shapes, major/minor variations, dominant and extended chords, and common modal and altered shapes.

How this list is organized

• Open-position majors and minors (natural shapes using open strings)
• Movable (closed) triads across the fretboard
• Dominant 7ths and altered dominants
• Major/minor 7ths and extended chords (9ths, add9, 6ths)
• Suspended, diminished, augmented, and modal shapes
• Common inversions and voicings for accompaniment

Open-position majors and minors (20)

These are foundational; learn voicings in G, D, C, A, E, and their relative minors.

• G, Gmaj7, G6, Gadd9
• D, Dsus4, D6, Dadd9
• C, Cmaj7, C6, Cadd9
• A, Am, A7, Am7
• E, Em

Movable triads and inversions (30)

Closed-position triads allow shifting shapes up the neck.

• Major triads: root position, 1st inversion, 2nd inversion in all strings (12)
• Minor triads: root, 1st, 2nd inversions (12)
• Power chords (5ths) across strings (6)

Dominant 7ths and altered dominants (20)

Essential for blues, folk, jazz progressions.

• Dominant 7: root, 3rd, 5th, b7 voicings in open and movable forms (6)
• 7b5, 7#5, 7b9, 7#9 voicings (8)
• 9sus4 and dominant 9 shapes (6)

Major and minor 7ths, 6ths, and 9ths (20)

For softer, more colorful harmony.

• Major 7: root and 1st inversion shapes (6)
• Minor 7: root and inversions (6)
• Major 6 and minor 6 shapes (4)
• Add9 and major9 voicings (4)

Suspended, diminished, augmented, and modal shapes (20)

Adds sonic variety for transitions and tensions.

• Sus2 and Sus4 shapes across the fretboard (6)
• Diminished triads and diminished 7 shapes (6)
• Augmented triads and +7 voicings (4)
• Modal quartal/quintal clusters for Dorian, Mixolydian, etc. (4)

Practice plan to internalize 120 chords

1. Week 1–2: Learn open-position shapes and 12 closed triads — 10–15 minutes daily.
2. Week 3–4: Add dominant and major/minor 7th shapes — practice switching within progressions.
3. Week 5–6: Learn extended and altered dominants — apply to blues/jazz songs.
4. Ongoing: Create chord charts for 12 keys; practice inversions and voice-leading.

How to practice effectively

• Use a metronome; start slow.
• Practice chord changes using common progressions (I–IV–V, ii–V–I, vi–IV–I–V).
• Learn one new chord per day and review five old ones.
• Transcribe voicings from recordings and map them on your fretboard.

Common chord fingerings (examples)

• G major (open): 0-0-2-3 (strings 4–1)
• D major (open): 0-2-3-2
• C major (open): 0-0-0-3
• A minor (open): 2-2-1-0

Applying chords musically

• Use root-position strums for rhythm.
• Use higher inversions for fills and melodic accompaniment.
• Combine open strings with movable shapes for ringing textures.
• Voice-lead between chords by moving one finger at a time.

Quick reference practice chart (suggested)

Final note

These 120 chord shapes will give you the vocabulary to play in many styles. Prioritize sound and smooth transitions over memorizing shapes quickly. Practice regularly, map shapes across the neck, and apply them in songs.