Amaj Guitar Chord | Play, Hear and Practice Interactively

A, C# and E make up the A major chord. Eight of its voicings use open strings, among them the compact x02220 shape, and eight more are barre shapes.

The chord works as I in A major, as IV in E major and as V in D major. If you want to know why those three notes sound major, see how chords are built from stacked thirds. Every note belongs to the A major scale.

Switch on the microphone check in the player at the top, strum the chord and see whether each string rings true before you move on.

A major guitar chord is also written as A, Amaj, AM or AΔ.

Notes in the A maj chord:

A C# E

Chord formula for the Major chord:

Formula: 1 3 5

A Maj Chord Interactive Fretboard

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A Maj Guitar Chord Diagrams

Position 1 Open

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Let the A string play without pressing any fret
Let the high E string play without pressing any fret
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 2 of the D string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 2 of the G string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 2 of the B string

Position 2 Barre Movable

Finger Positions

Place your index finger (1) on the fret 5 of the low E, B and high E strings at the same time
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 6 of the G string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 7 of the A string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 7 of the D string

Position 3 Barre Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 9 of the G and high E strings at the same time
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 10 of the B string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 11 of the D string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 12 of the A string

Position 4 Open

Finger Positions

Let the low E string play without pressing any fret
Mute the D string
Let the high E string play without pressing any fret
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 2 of the G string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 4 of the A string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 5 of the B string

Position 5 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the G string
Mute the B string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 4 of the A string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 5 of the high E string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 7 of the D string

Position 6 Barre Open

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Let the A string play without pressing any fret
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 2 of the D, G and B strings at the same time
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 5 of the high E string

Position 7 Open

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Let the A string play without pressing any fret
Let the high E string play without pressing any fret
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 5 of the B string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 6 of the G string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 7 of the D string

Position 8 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the A string
Mute the D string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 9 of the G string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 9 of the high E string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 10 of the B string

Position 9 Barre Open

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Let the A string play without pressing any fret
Mute the high E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 2 of the D, G and B strings at the same time

Position 10 Open

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the A string
Mute the D string
Let the high E string play without pressing any fret
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 5 of the B string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 6 of the G string

Position 11 Barre Open

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Let the A string play without pressing any fret
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 5 of the B and high E strings at the same time
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 6 of the G string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 7 of the D string

Position 12 Open

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Let the A string play without pressing any fret
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 7 of the D string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 9 of the high E string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 9 of the G string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 10 of the B string

Position 13 Barre Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the high E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 2 of the D, G and B strings at the same time
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 4 of the A string

Position 14 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the D string
Mute the G string
Mute the B string
Mute the high E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 4 of the A string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 5 of the low E string

Position 15 Barre Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 12 of the A and high E strings at the same time
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 14 of the D, G and B strings at the same time

Position 16 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the A string
Mute the high E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 9 of the G string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 10 of the B string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 11 of the D string

Position 17 Barre Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 5 of the B and high E strings at the same time
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 6 of the G string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 7 of the A string
Place your pinky finger (4) on the fret 7 of the D string

Position 18 Movable

Finger Positions

Mute the low E string
Mute the A string
Mute the high E string
Place your index finger (1) on the fret 5 of the B string
Place your middle finger (2) on the fret 6 of the G string
Place your ring finger (3) on the fret 7 of the D string

Find more shapes in our all guitar chords online library. If you prefer a printable pdf, download the Free Guitar Chords Chart Pdf

Play This Chord With Other Roots

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Created by

Giancarlo Facoetti

Giancarlo is a musician (teaching guitar since 2000), software engineer, AI consultant and published researcher

FAQ

Which notes are in A major?

A major contains A, C# and E: the root, the major third and the perfect fifth. C# is four semitones up from A, and E is seven.

How many ways are there to play A major?

A major has 18 voicings, 8 of them with open strings and 8 with a barre. The highest one reaches the 14th fret.

In which keys does A major appear?

A major is the I chord of A major, the IV chord of E major and the V chord of D major. All three notes are in each of those scales.

What makes A major a major chord?

Its third, C#, is four semitones up from the root, which is a major third. Together with the perfect fifth, E, seven semitones up, that gives the major sound.

Which scale can be used over A major?

The A major scale: A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#. It contains the chord's three notes: A, C# and E, so melodies in it fit.