How to play the A Major chord on guitar
A crams three fingers into a single fret on adjacent strings, which is cramped for larger hands. Many players eventually barre it with one finger instead. It is the pivot chord in countless blues and rock progressions in the key of A or E.
A Major is a major triad — root, major third and fifth: A, C#, E. The major third is what makes it sound bright rather than sad.
Finger it one string at a time
- low E string: don't play it.
- A string: play it open.
- D string: fret 2 with your index finger.
- G string: fret 2 with your middle finger.
- B string: fret 2 with your ring finger.
- high E string: play it open.
Three fingers in a row on the 2nd fret. Keep them compact.
What makes this shape awkward
- 1 string stays silent, so your strumming hand has to start on the right string. Aim the pick rather than sweeping all six.
Other voicings
A Major can also be played with a different note in the bass. Each voicing keeps the same notes and changes which one you hear lowest.
- Root Position — A in the bass.
- 1st Inversion — C# in the bass.
- 2nd Inversion — E in the bass.
Where you'll use it
A appears in 2 of the play-along progressions in RiffRoute. These are the actual sequences it sits in:
- Basement Static (90s Grunge, 116 BPM) —
F → A → G → C - Sunset Highway (Indie Pop, 108 BPM) —
D → Dsus2 → G → A
Keys it belongs to
A is diatonic to these keys, which is why it turns up in songs written in them — the bracket is the degree it plays there:
Chords it's usually played with
In the progressions that use A, these turn up alongside it most often — learning them together is more useful than learning A alone.
Hear it and check yourself
Reading a diagram only gets you so far — the part that decides whether A sounds right is whether every string rings cleanly. RiffRoute plays the chord back, listens while you strum it, and tells you which string is buzzing.