slash chord · A root
A/C# chord
- C#3
- A1
- E5
- A1
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The A over C# chord is built from the notes C#, A, E, A. It turns up 1 times in the 80 songs on this site, including Margaritaville.
By Chiye · Updated
What is the A/C# chord?
The A/C# chord (A over C#) is a slash chord built from four notes: C#, A, E, A — 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-4-2-2-2-0) with 4 fingers while 1 string rings open and the low E string stays silent. It is rated beginner — most players learn it in their first weeks. The same triad with a different note placed in the bass, so the chord keeps its identity while the lowest voice walks underneath it. It is one of the most-used chords in this site's library: across the 80 song sheets charted here, A/C# appears 1 times in 1 song, most often in the key of D, and the chord it most often moves to is A7. Below you will find step-by-step fingering, audio of every shape, and the real progressions this chord lives inside.
How do you play the A/C# chord on guitar?
Open position — the easiest version of A/C# on the guitar.
- Press the A string at fret 4 with your pinky finger.
- 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-4-2-2-2-0
How do you make A/C# sound clean?
Players barre the whole 2nd fret for A/C# and lose the open high E — the note that makes the chord ring. Only the A string moves up to C# at fret 4.
A → A/C# → D: the bass walks up a step while the top three strings never move. Margaritaville lives on that move.
In real songs
What songs use the A/C# chord?
- chord changes
- 1
- songs
- 1
- common keys
- D
Across the 80 chord sheets on this site, A/C# appears 1 time in 1 song — most often in the key of D.
DAA/C#A7
Chord flow
What chord comes after A/C#?
Every number here is a count from the progressions in our song sheets, not a generalisation: 1560 chord changes are behind these figures.
The theory behind A/C#
A/C# is spelled C# – A – E – A — the 1 – 3 – 5 of the A scale, which is the root plus 4 semitones, 7 semitones. The same triad with a different note placed in the bass, so the chord keeps its identity while the lowest voice walks underneath it.
The letter after the slash is a bass note, not a new chord. A/C# is the same A shape with one low string fretted differently, which is how a bass line walks underneath a chord that is not moving.
What key is the A/C# chord in?
A/C# is the A major triad with C# in the bass, so it stands in for the same three chords: the I in A major, the IV in E major and the V in D major.
the home chord — songs resolve here
the subdominant — the chord that leaves home
the dominant — the chord that pulls back home
A/C# on other instruments
C# – A – E – A — 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
