GuitarChords.net

A major guitar chord

Mute the thickest string for A major. The notes are A, C sharp, and E. The first picture puts three fingers on fret 2.

x means muted. 0 means open.

A major

Short code x02220, thickest string first.

  1. Low E string: muted, do not play.
  2. A string: open, note A, 1st.
  3. D string: fret 2, index finger, note E, 5th.
  4. G string: fret 2, middle finger, note A, 1st.
  5. B string: fret 2, ring finger, note C sharp, 3rd.
  6. High E string: open, note E, 5th.

A major uses the notes A, E and C sharp.

This is a beginner grip.

People write "A" for "A major".

The first shape does not use a barre.

Another shape on this page uses a barre.

The next beginner chord on this site is F major. Open the F major page.

More A guitar chords.

Also A minor, A dominant 7, A major 7, A minor 7, A suspended 2, A suspended 4, A power chord, A diminished, A augmented.

A major, another shape

Short code x02225, thickest string first.

Barre fret 2 with the index finger on the D, G and B strings.

  1. Low E string: muted, do not play.
  2. A string: open, note A, 1st.
  3. D string: fret 2, index finger, note E, 5th.
  4. G string: fret 2, index finger, note A, 1st.
  5. B string: fret 2, index finger, note C sharp, 3rd.
  6. High E string: fret 5, pinky finger, note A, 1st.

A major uses the notes A, E and C sharp.

Why do these two A major shapes sound different?

Both pictures are A, C sharp, and E. That is A major. The first picture mutes the thick string, puts three fingers on fret 2, and rings the open A string and the open high E. The second picture uses one finger across those three fret-2 strings (a barre) and adds a high A with the pinky. Same three notes. The second shape usually sounds bigger because of that high A.

If the A major in a song sounds bigger than the first picture, try the barre picture lower on this page. It is still A major.

This site shows the chord. It does not play the recording. The first picture mutes the thick string. A low E on a recording is a different way of playing A, or a capo (a clamp that raises every string). Changing too fast into F major can make a right A sound off. Check those before you decide your fingers failed.

C sharp is the note that makes this chord major instead of minor. On the first picture that C sharp is on the B string, fret 2, ring finger. Play A minor after this A major. On A minor that note is C. Listen for C sharp turning into C.

When you change from this first A major into the first F major, the middle finger can stay on the G string at fret 2. That finger does not have to lift. The other fingers still move. Practice that change slowly.

Chords that go with A major

The matching minor chord is F sharp minor. Open the F sharp minor page.

This site also has D major and E major.

Progressions that start on A major

Play each line in order.

A major, D major, E major, A major

This is the campfire loop. A major (A) to D major (D) to E major (E) and home. Your ear already knows the last chord is coming, and that little click of "yes" is why beginners and church basements and country radio never get tired of it. It feels like a door shutting gently, not slamming.

A major, E major, F sharp minor, D major

This loop is why so many pop songs feel like they have a plot. Bright, brighter, then F sharp minor (F#m) makes it personal, then D major lets you keep going. Country-pop and adult contemporary use it too, not only Top 40. Good for a chorus people can feel on the first listen.

A major, F sharp minor, D major, E major

A major to F#m is the first drop in the stomach. D major and E major walk you back the way a slow dance does. 1950s doo-wop and old love songs wore this path smooth. People hum it in the car before they know the words.

A major, E major, D major, A major

No minor chord, so no lump in the throat — only forward. 1970s rock, church-camp songs, anything that wants grit and a grin instead of a sad verse. You stomp. You keep going.

A major, B minor, E major, A major

B minor (Bm) is a quieter color, not a tragedy. E major turns you around. A major is still home; you just took the long way. Jazz standards and softer pop from the 1930s on like that little wait before you land. It feels grown without getting hard.

Songs with A major

Listen for this chord, then use the grip on this page.

Three Little Birds

A major sits in this Bob Marley and the Wailers song. The recording is in A major. It also uses D major and E major. The chorus is A major, D major, A major. The verse is A major, E major, A major, D major, A major, E major, D major, A major.

A major is the first chord of the chorus and the chord the song keeps coming back to.

Bob Marley and the Wailers put Three Little Birds out in 1977, on the album Exodus. A major is the home chord. It is bright and steady. It is the chord the chorus sits on.

Tony Gilbert was a friend of Marley’s. He said canaries used to come to the windowsill at 56 Hope Road in Kingston, Jamaica. That house was Marley’s home, and the office of his label, Tuff Gong.

Gilbert told Vivien Goldman that story for her book The Book of Exodus. Marley told Sounds magazine the birds really happened. He said that is where he got his inspiration.

A major is the chord you sit on for most of the chorus. Then you play D major and come back to A major.

I Wanna Be Sedated

A major sits in this Ramones song. The recording is in E major. It also uses E major and B major. The chorus is E major, A major, E major. The verse is B major, E major, B major, E major, B major, E major, A major, B major.

A major is the other chord in the chorus, after E major.

I Wanna Be Sedated is an E major song on Road to Ruin. In the chorus you play E major, then A major. E major sits still. A major is the other color. It is the chord that turns you back.

Joey used a humidifier to clear his throat before shows, because they were on the road so much. It exploded and burned his face. He went to a hospital. Marky Ramone told Loudwire in 2015 that he tied this song to the burn.

Joey told the Chicago Tribune the hospital was hellish, and that he got this song out of it. That was earlier in the same stretch of touring. He wrote the song later that year, at Christmas in London.

A major is the chord that answers E major in the chorus, then you go back.