A Major Chord

Lesson 25
Author : Chris Colby van Scyoc
Last Updated : May, 2025

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LEARN


A MAJOR CHORD
Written Materials for This Lesson

The A major chord. The most-played chord by guitar techs during rock band sound checks. Well, the A chord and the E chord. The A chord is everywhere! AC/DC always comes to mind for me whenever I think about the A chord. This is another shape we can move around on the fretboard - a moveable shape. There are several ways to make this chord. Try them all and find the one that works best for you.


A Major Chord

Note: Below is the what I call the "rock version" of the A major chord. I cover other fingerings in the LEARN lesson.

  • E (6th) string (Low) = mute / not strummed
  • A (5th) string = open
  • D (4th) string = first (1st) finger, second (2nd) fret
  • G (3rd) string = first (1st) finger, second (2nd) fret
  • B (2nd) string = first (1st) finger, second (2nd) fret
  • E (1st) string (High) = mute / not strummed / or open



PLAY

Play #1

|: A / / / | A / / / :|



Play #2

|: A / / / | A / / / :|



Play #3

|: Em / / / | A / / / :|



Play #4

|: Em / / / | A / / / :|



Play #5

|: Em / / / | A / / / :|



Play #6

|: E / / / | A / / / :|



Play #7

|: E / / / | A / / / :|



Play #8

|: E / / / | A / / / :|



Play #9

|: E / / / | A / / / :|



Play #10

|: E / / / | A / / / :|



Play #11

|: A / / / | E / / / :|



Play #12

|: A / / / | E / / / :|



Play #13

|: A / / / | E / / / :|



Play #14

|: A / / / | E / / / :|



Play #15

|: A / / / | D/A / / / :|



Play #16

|: D/A / / / | E/A / / / :|



Play #17

|: A / / / | D/A / E/A / / :|



Play #18

|: A / / / | D/A / E/A / / :|



Play #19

|: A / / / | D/A / E/A / / :|



JAM!

JAM #1

Mittens for Tiny Fingers


|: A / / / | A / E / / :|





Review: What We Know!

  • NEW:
  • ~ From This Lesson ~
  • A Major Chord

  • PREVIOUS:
  • F & Fmaj7 Chords
  • C Major Chord
  • Barre Chords
  • Power Chords
  • Flats and Sharps
  • Natural Notes on the Low E String
  • Notes on the Low E String
  • Single-String Picking
  • Eighth Notes
  • Am Chord
  • Changing Chords - E and Am
  • Am7 Chord
  • Changing Chords - E7 and Am7
  • E7 Chord
  • E Chord
  • Em Chord
  • Em7 Chord
  • Tuning and Tuners
  • Your first open chord - Em11
  • Quarter Notes
  • Half Notes
  • Whole Notes
  • Downstroke
  • Counting bars (measures) of four. Also known as 4/4 ("four, four time")
  • Muting all the strings with the fretting hand
  • Playing on beat one of every measure (the first beat of each measure)
  • Playing in time
  • Let's build upon this! Fantastic!

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