The big character up top is Guitar, U+1F3B8, and Copy puts it on your clipboard. It is the only guitar in Unicode, so guitar emoji copy and paste carries on below with 56 tiles: chord boxes, tabs, tuning lines and combos.
Read the full guide
Find a chord, a tab or a tuning
Search reads names and search words. Chord finds 16 tiles, the eight chord boxes among them. Tab finds the blank tab, the scale tab and a six-line staff character, and tuning finds standard, drop D and Tune up.
How to read a chord box
Each box shows the first three frets, lowest string on the left. O is a finger, o above the nut is an open string, and x is a string you leave out. The six figures beside the name say the same in fret numbers. Boxes and tabs keep their shape only where text is monospaced, such as a code block.
Tips
The gig line is a sample. Paste it, then type your own day and times over ours.
The style switch changes one tile: Control knobs is the only emoji here with a plain text form.
Questions and answers
Is there an electric guitar emoji?
Not by name. Unicode has one Guitar, and its name says neither electric nor acoustic. CLDR, Unicode's list of search words, files electric under five emoji that are not instruments, High voltage among them, so πΈβ‘ says it.
Is there a bass guitar emoji?
No. In Unicode's emoji list, version 18.0, no name holds the word bass and CLDR files it under nothing. Unicode does have a Four-string fretboard, π, a plain text character, and four strings is by far the most common bass.
How do you write guitar chords in text?
As six figures, one for each string from the lowest: a fret number, 0 for an open string, x for a string left out. E minor is 022000 and C is x32010. A chord box draws the same thing.
What are the notes of the six guitar strings?
E, A, D, G, B and E in standard tuning, from the lowest string to the highest. Played open, they give the notes of the E minor pentatonic scale. Drop D lowers only the lowest string, a whole step, to D.
What are cowboy chords?
Open chords: ones with at least one string that no finger presses. The eight boxes here are all open, E, A, D, G and C major with E, A and D minor.
πͺBanjoU+1FA95. The one emoji CLDR calls stringed. It joined the list in Emoji 12.0, long after the guitar.
ποΈControl knobsU+1F39B U+FE0F. No emoji is an amplifier or a pedal, so the knobs stand in for both. Emoji 0.7.
π₯DrumU+1F941. The rest of the rhythm section. CLDR files drumsticks under it. Emoji 3.0.
πΈGuitarU+1F3B8. The only guitar in Unicode. Its name says neither electric nor acoustic, and none of the words CLDR files under it says electric, acoustic or bass. Emoji 0.6.
πͺHarpU+1FA89. The newest instrument with strings. CLDR files cupid and orchestra under it. Emoji 16.0.
π¨βπ€Man singerU+1F468 U+200D U+1F3A4. CLDR files rock and rockstar under him too. Emoji 4.0.
π€MicrophoneU+1F3A4. For the one who sings while the guitar plays. CLDR files karaoke and sing under it. Emoji 0.6.
πΉMusical keyboardU+1F3B9. The keys in the band. CLDR files piano under it. Emoji 0.6.
π€Sign of the hornsU+1F918. The hand that goes with a loud guitar: CLDR files rock-on under it. It takes skin tones. Emoji 1.0.
π§βπ€SingerU+1F9D1 U+200D U+1F3A4. No emoji is a guitarist. CLDR files rock and rockstar under the three singers, and this one has no gender in its name. Emoji 12.1.
π»ViolinU+1F3BB. The other stringed instrument as old as the guitar in the emoji list: both date from Emoji 0.6.
βFlat signU+266D Music flat sign. For chord names such as Bβ. Where it will not show, a small letter b reads the same.
πFour-string fretboardU+1D11D Musical symbol four-string fretboard. The same box with four strings, the number most bass guitars have. It needs the same font.
η΄QinU+7434 CJK unified ideograph-7434. Unihan defines this character as Chinese lute or guitar.
β―Sharp signU+266F Music sharp sign. For chord names such as Fβ―m. It is a different character from the number sign on a keyboard.
πSix-line staffU+1D11B Musical symbol six-line staff. Six lines, one for each string: the staff that tablature is written on. It needs the same font.
πSix-string fretboardU+1D11C Musical symbol six-string fretboard. Unicode's own blank chord box for a guitar. It needs a font with the Musical Symbols block. Without one it shows as an empty box.
εΌ¦StringU+5F26 CJK unified ideograph-5F26. Unihan defines this character as string, and also as hypotenuse and crescent.
Tuning, chord and gig lines 10
βͺ ββ πΈ ββ βͺDivider with a guitar in the middle
πΈ Ι’α΄Ιͺα΄α΄Κ Κα΄κ±κ±α΄Ι΄κ±Small capitals, for a teacher's bio
πΈ ππ¨ππ§ππ₯ πΈThe word in bold sans capitals, a guitar at each end
Capo 2 | G D Em CSong sheet line: with a capo, chords are named from the capo
D A D G B EDrop D: only the lowest string moves, a whole step down
E A D G B EStandard tuning, lowest string first
Em 022000 | G 320003 | C x32010 | D xx0232Four open chords as fret numbers, lowest string first
πΈ G Β· D Β· Em Β· CFour chords: I, V, vi and IV in the key of G
πΈ Live tonight | 8 pm | Doors 7Gig line: change the day and the times
{(o)}======[::]ASCII guitar on its side: body, neck and headstock
Open chords as ASCII chord boxes 8
A major chordA as a chord box: x is a string you leave out, o is an open string and O is a finger. The double line is the nut, and the numbers up top are the frets, lowest string first.
A minor chordAm as a chord box: x is a string you leave out, o is an open string and O is a finger. The double line is the nut, and the numbers up top are the frets, lowest string first.
C major chordC as a chord box: x is a string you leave out, o is an open string and O is a finger. The double line is the nut, and the numbers up top are the frets, lowest string first.
D major chordD as a chord box: x is a string you leave out, o is an open string and O is a finger. The double line is the nut, and the numbers up top are the frets, lowest string first.
D minor chordDm as a chord box: x is a string you leave out, o is an open string and O is a finger. The double line is the nut, and the numbers up top are the frets, lowest string first.
E major chordE as a chord box: o is an open string and O is a finger. The double line is the nut, and the numbers up top are the frets, lowest string first.
E minor chordEm as a chord box: o is an open string and O is a finger. The double line is the nut, and the numbers up top are the frets, lowest string first.
G major chordG as a chord box: o is an open string and O is a finger. The double line is the nut, and the numbers up top are the frets, lowest string first.
ASCII guitars, tabs and a fretboard 5
ASCII acoustic guitarSix tuners, three a side, a sound hole and a bridge. Plain ASCII, 12 columns wide.
ASCII electric guitarSix tuners in a line, two horns, two pickups and two knobs. Plain ASCII, 8 columns wide.
Blank tabSix lines, one a string, with the high e on top. Paste it, then type fret numbers over the dashes. 0 is an open string.
E minor pentatonic tabThe E minor pentatonic scale in open position, low E to high. Its five notes are the five names of the open strings.
FretboardTwelve frets, with marker dots at 3, 5, 7, 9 and 12. The twelfth fret is one octave above the open string.
ποΈπ₯πΈCampfire songsCamping, then fire, then guitar. Open chords are also called cowboy chords, and this is where they live.
π€ πΈCountryCowboy hat face, then guitar. CLDR files cowboy and cowgirl under the face.
πΈβ‘Electric guitarGuitar, then high voltage. No emoji is named electric guitar. CLDR files electric under High voltage, so the pair says it.
ππΈEncoreClapping hands, then guitar. CLDR files applause under Clapping hands.
ππΈFlamencoWoman dancing, then guitar. CLDR files flamenco under Woman dancing and Man dancing, and nowhere else.
π€πΈπΈπ₯Four-piece bandMicrophone, then guitar 2 times, then drum. A singer, two guitars and drums. Unicode has no bass guitar, so the second guitar plays it.
πΈποΈπGig tonightGuitar, then admission tickets, then night with stars. A guitar, the tickets and the night.
πΈπGuitar lessonGuitar, then books. CLDR files study under Books.
πΈπ₯Guitar soloGuitar, then fire. CLDR files lit under Fire.
β°πΈPractice timeAlarm clock, then guitar. A reminder to pin in a chat with yourself.
π€πΈRock onSign of the horns, then guitar. CLDR files rock-on under the hand.
πΈπΉπSerenadeGuitar, then rose, then crescent moon. A guitar, a rose and a moon, for a song under a window.
ππΈTune upEar, then guitar. CLDR files listen under Ear. Lowest string to highest, the notes are E, A, D, G, B and E.
π«ππΈUnpluggedProhibited, then electric plug, then guitar. The acoustic set. No emoji and no CLDR search word says acoustic.
How this list was compiled: Built by script on 2026-09-19, not typed by hand. The emoji, their names, code points and Emoji version numbers come from emoji-test.txt, version 18.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/emoji/emoji-test.txt); names are the CLDR short names printed in that file, in sentence case. In that file Guitar is U+1F3B8 (Emoji 0.6, group Objects, subgroup musical-instrument), the only emoji with guitar in its name, and no name holds bass, ukulele, mandolin, lute or acoustic. The subgroup has 13 instruments; of the four with strings, Guitar and Violin are Emoji 0.6, Banjo 12.0 and Harp 16.0. The search words are from the CLDR English annotations (https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr/blob/main/common/annotations/en.xml and https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr/blob/main/common/annotationsDerived/en.xml, main branch). CLDR lists guitar, instrument and music for the guitar, plus a nickname for one model of guitar, a trade name that this page leaves out of its search words, stringed for the banjo only, rock-on for sign of the horns only, rockstar for the three singers, electric for five emoji that are not instruments, and flamenco for woman dancing and man dancing. The text forms come from emoji-variation-sequences.txt, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/emoji/emoji-variation-sequences.txt). Every character that is not an emoji was checked against UnicodeData.txt, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/UnicodeData.txt), and a note that names a character uses its name from that file. The two CJK definitions are kDefinition values of the Unihan database, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/Unihan.zip), and the note on the sharp sign follows NamesList.txt, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/NamesList.txt). Wikipedia supplied the guitar facts, read as wikitext on 2026-09-20: standard tuning E, A, D, G, B, E from the lowest string, drop D, and the open strings spelling the E minor pentatonic scale (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_tunings); six strings as the usual number, four on most basses, fret markers at 3, 5, 7 and 12 and on odd-numbered frets, the twelfth fret as the octave (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar); open chords, their nickname cowboy chords and what a capo does (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_chord); how tablature numbers frets, writes 0 for an open string and counts from a capo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tablature); and the I, V, vi, IV progression, given there in C and moved to G by the script (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%E2%80%93V%E2%80%93vi%E2%80%93IV_progression). The eight chord boxes are computed, not typed: the script adds each fret to the open string, stops unless the notes that sound are exactly the chord's root, third and fifth with the root lowest, and stops unless the open and muted strings match the fingering printed for that chord in the Wikibooks guitar book, read on 2026-09-20 (https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Guitar/Open_Chords). The scale tab is checked the same way. The 10 one-line drawings, the 8 chord boxes, the 5 ASCII drawings and the 15 combos are this site's own work: styled words are assembled from character names and the drawings were made for this page. No song is transcribed. The Unicode and CLDR files were checked on 2026-09-19 and the Wikipedia and Wikibooks pages on 2026-09-20. Licence: own work