How to Play an A-Chord on the Guitar

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By Gary Hancock
eHow Contributing Writer

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Open Position A-Major-Chord

Major chords are built from the first, third, and fifth degrees of the major scale and are widely used in popular music from all styles and eras. A necessity when learning to play the guitar is to learn how to play an A(major)-chord on the guitar.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Step 1

Place your third (ring) finger behind the second fret on the second string of the guitar. Frets are the metal ridges on the fingerboard of the guitar with the first fret being the one closest to the guitar's headstock. The strings on the guitar are referred to as strings one through six, with with the first string being the thinnest string and the sixth string being the thickest string.
Step 2

Place your second (middle) finger behind the second fret on the third string.
Step 3

Place your first (index) finger behind the second fret on the fourth string.
Step 4

Strum the chord from the fifth string down to the first string.

Tips & Warnings

Make sure that your fingers that are being used to fret notes are only touching the desired string. If the chord doesn't sound clear, try playing one string at a time while adjusting your fingering to get the best sound.

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