A A major chord
- Notes
- A C# E
- Formula
- 1 3 5
- Semitones
- 0 4 7 above the root
- Other symbols
- AM, Amaj
A to C# is a major third (4 semitones), C# to E is a minor third (3 semitones). The major triad: a major third with a minor third on top, the tonic chord of the key of A major.
A on the piano
Root position from A4: A4, C#5, E5. Middle C is C4.
A on the guitar
Standard tuning (E A D G B E). Strings run low E on the left to high e on the right, frets downwards; × is a muted string, ○ an open string, and each dot shows the note it sounds, with the root in blue-green. Every shape below has A as its lowest note.
x 0 2 2 2 0 (low E to high e)
Sounds A2 E3 A3 C#4 E4
5 7 7 6 5 5 (low E to high e)
Sounds A2 E3 A3 C#4 E4 A4
The E-shape and A-shape grips are movable: an E-shape chord's root is the note under your first finger on the low E string, an A-shape chord's root is the note on the A string. Slide the same grip up or down to play major chords on other roots.
A on the ukulele
Standard ukulele tuning is G C E A, drawn with the G string on the left and frets downwards, as ukulele chord charts show it. The G string is tuned higher than the C string (G4 above middle C, a fifth over C4), so the lowest note you hear is usually on the C or E string, not on the G string, and a shape can sound as an inversion even when its root is on the G string. All four strings are strummed, so every string plays a chord tone; the root is in blue-green.
2100 (G C E A)
Sounds A4 C#4 E4 A4
Lowest note C#4, so the chord finder reads it as A/C# (first inversion).
2404 (G C E A)
Sounds A4 E4 E4 C#5
Lowest note E4, so the chord finder reads it as A/E (second inversion).
Inversions of A
An inversion puts a note other than the root in the bass. The name is what semicord's chord finder calls those notes played bottom to top; a slash name like C/E means a C chord with E in the bass.
| Position | Notes, bass first | Named | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Root position | A C# E | A | |
| 1st inversion | C# E A | A/C# | |
| 2nd inversion | E A C# | A/E |
Where A fits
A is I in A major, IV in E major, V in D major, V in D minor. As V in a minor key it comes from the harmonic minor scale, whose raised seventh degree is this chord's third, C#.