The A Major chord is a fundamental guitar chord widely used across many music genres including rock, pop, country, and blues. It has a bright and vibrant sound that adds energy to your playing.

How to Play A Major on Guitar:

• Place your index finger on the 2nd fret of the 4th string (D).
• Place your middle finger on the 2nd fret of the 3rd string (G).
• Place your ring finger on the 2nd fret of the 2nd string (B).
• Strum from the 5th string (A) down to the 1st string (high E), avoiding the 6th string (low E).

Tips for Clean Sound:

• Keep your fingers curved and press close to the frets to avoid muted or buzzing strings.
• Make sure your fingers don’t accidentally touch the 5th string, so it rings clearly.
• Practice switching to and from the A Major chord slowly to build muscle memory.

HOW TO PLAY

A Major

STEP BY STEP

How to play a A Major chord on the guitar

1. Put your first finger on the second fret of the fourth string.
2. Put your second finger on the second fret of the third string.
3. Put your third finger on the second fret of the second string.
4. Strum only the highest five strings.

HOW IT’S USED

The most common progression you’ll likely see with A Major is going from A, to D, to E, or I, IV, V.

A

D

E

See Stir It Up, by Bob Marley, for example:

AStir it up, Dlittle Edarlin’, Astir it up

Adding in the minor six chord (F#m), you have the classic I-V-iv-IV pattern:

A

E

F#m

D

John Denver’s Country Roads is a good example: