A major guitar chord (A)

How to play A

Finger numbers run 1 for the index to 4 for the little finger. String names are given as players say them — the low E is the thickest string (the 6th) and the high E is the thinnest (the 1st).

1. 1st finger (index) — 2nd fret, D string
2. 2nd finger (middle) — 2nd fret, G string
3. 3rd finger (ring) — 2nd fret, B string

• Play open: A (5th) and high E (1st) — strum them without fretting anything.
• Leave out: low E (6th) — start the strum below it, or damp it with the side of the thumb.

Notes and intervals in A

A is built from 3 notes: A, C♯ and E.

• A — the root (R)
• C♯ — the major 3rd (3)
• E — the perfect 5th (5)

Across the six strings the shape sounds A · E · A · C♯ · E from low to high, so some notes are doubled in different octaves — that is what gives an open guitar chord its width compared with the same chord on a keyboard.

What A is used for

Three fingers in a row on the 2nd fret make A the tidiest of the open majors. It is the I chord in the key of A and the V that resolves to D, so it turns up in nearly every three-chord progression built on open strings. The root sits on the open 5th string, which is why the shape only asks for five strings.

Common mistakes with A

• Three fingers crammed into one fret. Angle the hand so the fingertips stack up behind the 2nd fret wire instead of piling on top of each other — if the high E chokes, the ring finger is leaning on it.
• Strumming the low E string. A has its root on the open 5th string, so letting the 6th ring puts an E underneath the chord. Start the strum at the A string or damp the 6th with the side of the thumb.
• Fretting in the middle of the fret space. Notes fizz when the fingertip sits too far back — slide the whole hand toward the fret wire, not harder into the fingerboard.

Chords that go with A

Same-root variations first, then the chords a fourth and a fifth away — the shapes A is most often played alongside.

• A minor
• A dominant 7
• D major
• D minor
• E major
• E minor