One of the first guitar chords that you are probably going to learn how to play is the guitar A chord. However, with guitar and something called the CAGED system (will be posting more on that on this site in the future), there are actually a number of different ways to play an A chord.
The first way to play it is called an open chord – it is called this because it contains open strings that you do not fret. Here is the first one – notice that you only play the top five strings and omit the open E since that note is not part of the A chord.
Not sure how to read these below chords charts? Take a look at my post on beginner guitar chords for a complete explanation.
What Notes Make Up An A Chord?
The three notes that make up an A Major Guitar Chord are A, C# and E.
Basic open chord:
A Major Guitar Chord Variations
The next A chord variation is played on the fifth fret. This is also a barre chord
This variation can also be done like this:
You can also move up to the seventh fret and do this:
Higher up on the neck, you can also play:
Practice These Guitar Chords
I’d recommend learning and memorizing each of these guitar chords and incorporating them into your playing. Basically, wherever there is an A chord in a song you are playing, you can substitute with any of these above.