I find it gratifying to know that it’s not only me – Scott Andrew LePera (of Scott Andrew and the Walkingbirds fame) also has trouble with figuring out what chord he’s actually playing:
A lot of times when I’m using some weird tuning and using the capo, I have no idea what chord I’m strumming, only that it sounds great. I’m amused to find out that a particularly complex-sounding and difficult-to-fret chord is actually just some variation of G major. And like I said, I’m guessing a lot of the time. I mean, I really do want to claim that “Have We Learned” contains an F#m7 add 11 just because it sounds impressive, but I can’t confirm it because I really can’t read music.
I feel oddly vindicated.