Major chord · A root
A chord
- A1
- C#3
- E5
The A major chord is built from the notes A, C#, E. It turns up 120 times in the 80 songs on this site, including A Horse with No Name and Fell in Love with a Girl.
By Chiye · Updated
What is the A chord?
The A chord (A major) is a major chord built from three notes: A, C#, E — the 1–3–5 of the A scale, 4 semitones and 7 semitones above the root. On guitar it is most often played in open position (x-0-2-2-2-0) with 3 fingers while 2 strings ring open and the low E string stays silent. It is rated beginner — most players learn it in their first weeks. The bright, home-base sound that most songs resolve to. It is one of the most-used chords in this site's library: across the 80 song sheets charted here, A appears 120 times in 20 songs, most often in the keys of D and A, and the chord it most often moves to is D. Below you will find step-by-step fingering, 4 positions up the neck, audio of every shape, and the real progressions this chord lives inside.
How do you play the A chord on guitar?
Open position — the easiest version of A on the guitar.
- Press the D string at fret 2 with your index finger.
- Press the G string at fret 2 with your middle finger.
- Press the B string at fret 2 with your ring finger.
- Start your strum on the A string and do not play the low E string at all.
The x mark is part of the shape, not an accident: the chord only sounds right when low E stays silent. Instead of aiming your pick around that string, let the string next to it rest on it and damp it. x-0-2-2-2-0
The one-finger A — easiest version for day one
Strum from the A string and press the D, G and B strings at fret 2 with one index finger laid flat — a mini barre instead of three fingertips. The inside string may take a few days to ring, but there is only one finger to place.
frets x-0-2-2-2-0
How do you make A sound clean?
Three fingers squeezed onto one fret crowd each other out. Try the one-finger mini-barre across D-G-B, or the stack where the middle finger leads.
A → D → E is the I–IV–V of A. Switch while strumming quarter notes at 60 BPM.
In real songs
What songs use the A chord?
- chord changes
- 120
- songs
- 20
- common keys
- D · A
Across the 80 chord sheets on this site, A appears 120 times in 20 songs — most often in the keys of D and A.
Asus2AAsus2A
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All 20 songs that use A— key, capo and a link to every sheet
| Song | Artist | Key | Capo |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Horse with No Name | America | Em | — |
| Fell in Love with a Girl | The White Stripes | B | — |
| Folsom Prison Blues | Johnny Cash | E | — |
| Hey There Delilah | Plain White T's | D | — |
| Hotel California | Eagles | Bm | — |
| I Walk the Line | Johnny Cash | F | 1 |
| Love Story | Taylor Swift | D | 2 |
| Margaritaville | Jimmy Buffett | D | — |
| Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) | The Beatles | E | — |
| Nothing Else Matters | Metallica | Em | — |
| Proud Mary | Creedence Clearwater Revival | D | — |
| Someone Like You | Adele | A | — |
| Teach Your Children | Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young | D | — |
| The Gambler | Kenny Rogers | Eb | 1 |
| Thinking Out Loud | Ed Sheeran | D | — |
| Three Little Birds | Bob Marley | A | — |
| What's Up? | 4 Non Blondes | A | — |
| While My Guitar Gently Weeps | The Beatles | Am | — |
| Wicked Game | Chris Isaak | Bm | — |
| Wish You Were Here | Pink Floyd | G | — |
Chord flow
What chord comes after A?
The counts come from our own song library — 1560 chord changes in total — which makes them a snapshot of real songs instead of a rule of thumb.
Three-chord moves
Three-chord moves are where a chord really shows its character. These are the ones that actually happen in this library, counted from the sheets:
What other ways can you play A up the neck?
3 more positions below. A chord is a set of notes, not a shape — every position below sounds like A, and each one puts your hand somewhere different, which is what makes them useful in different songs.
Position 2 · Fret 2 barre
Every note here is fretted, which means the shape transposes anywhere on the neck without changing your fingers.
The barre is the only hard part of this shape. Keep the bar finger straight and use the weight of your arm rather than the grip of your thumb.
Position 3 · Fret 5 barre
Every note here is fretted, which means the shape transposes anywhere on the neck without changing your fingers.
The barre is the only hard part of this shape. Keep the bar finger straight and use the weight of your arm rather than the grip of your thumb.
Position 4 · Fret 7
Every note here is fretted, which means the shape transposes anywhere on the neck without changing your fingers.
Up at fret 7 the frets are close together, so use a lighter touch than you would in the open position — squeezing here pulls the notes sharp.
Watch the A chord
Video: JustinGuitar on YouTube — embedded with the official player; credit and views belong to the creator.
The theory behind A
A is spelled A – C# – E — the 1 – 3 – 5 of the A scale, which is the root plus 4 semitones, 7 semitones. The bright, home-base sound that most songs resolve to.
The third is the note that makes it major, so it decides the character: keep it on top and A sounds bright, drop it below the fifth and the same notes sound rounder. On guitar that is a matter of which string you put it on, which is exactly what the different positions on this page do.
What key is the A chord in?
A is the I chord in the key of A major, the IV chord in E major and the V chord in D major — the three major keys where A appears naturally.
the home chord — songs resolve here
the subdominant — the chord that leaves home
the dominant — the chord that pulls back home
A on other instruments
2 1 0 0
The same chord on four strings in standard tuning. Because the uke is tuned higher, this shape sits at a different place on the neck than its guitar equivalent — useful when arranging for both instruments.
A – C# – E — the highlighted black keys are the sharps or flats; play each note once, then move them into one hand position.
Take it to the practice room
