Book excerpt: There are many ways to play and categorize chords and many schemes for cataloguing them. This book focuses on understanding the ways that chords are made, enabling the student to figure out how to play a new chord in several different positions. This is not a technique book, but rather a step-by-step method of understanding guitar chord symbols and the musical sounds they represent. the author's goal in writing this book was to empower the reader with the ability to play from sheet music, jazz charts, or lead sheets, all of which is accomplished through chord and fretboard diagrams, standard notation and tablature, and plain English. This book is recommended for seasoned players who want to enrich their harmonic palettes as well as for beginners who need help in conquering the initially abstract quality of the guitar fretboard.