What notes are in a A chord?

A is A, C#, E: the 1, 3, 5 of A.

How do you play A on guitar?

Open C / C-Shape: x 12 11 9 10 9; Open A / A-Shape: x 0 2 2 2 0; Open G / G-Shape: 5 4 2 2 2 5 (low E to high E, x = don't play the string).

What scale goes with A?

Scales on A that contain every note of A: A Major, A Major Pentatonic, A Major Blues, A Lydian, A Mixolydian, A Phrygian Dominant.

Guitar chord · Major

A chord (A Major)

Bright, stable, and strong fundamental major triad.

Notes AC#E

Formula 1 3 5

Shapes 5 on this page

A chord shapes

Tap a diagram to strum it. Numbers are fingers: 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky. Blue dots are the root, A.

Open C / C-Shape x 12 11 9 10 9

Open A / A-Shape x 0 2 2 2 0

Open G / G-Shape 5 4 2 2 2 5

Open E / E-Shape 5 7 7 6 5 5

Open D / D-Shape x x 7 9 10 9

Interactive chord diagram

A on the fretboard

STR OP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 E A D G B E ✕ ✕ ✕ ✕

Tap any note to hear it.

Scales to play over A

These scales start on A and contain every note of the chord, so they fit when A is the chord of the moment.

Fretwise · Free on iPhone & Android

Practise A and every other chord anywhere, even offline.

This page is a small slice of Fretwise. The app adds practice: exercises that play as tab, a new routine every day, and the tools to tune and keep time. On iPhone, iPad and Android, no sign-up.

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65 scales and 56 chord types in every key, with CAGED shapes
A tuner with 10 tunings and a metronome from 30 to 260 BPM
A new Daily 15 routine every day, plus free exercises
Maqam & makam between the frets, and the Name the Note quiz

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282 exercises that play as tab, and routines with a speed trainer
Chord & Scale Finder: tap the neck, get the name
Theory Lab and the Progression Builder with 51 genre loops
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Questions

What notes are in a A chord?: A is A, C#, E: the 1, 3, 5 of A.
How do you play A on guitar?: Open C / C-Shape: x 12 11 9 10 9; Open A / A-Shape: x 0 2 2 2 0; Open G / G-Shape: 5 4 2 2 2 5 (low E to high E, x = don't play the string).
What scale goes with A?: Scales on A that contain every note of A: A Major, A Major Pentatonic, A Major Blues, A Lydian, A Mixolydian, A Phrygian Dominant.

Major chords in every key

C C# D Eb E F F# G Ab A Bb B