How to Play the Open Position A Chord and CAGED A Shape
In the video lesson above, I talk about the A chord and how it becomes an A shape. I then demonstrate how we can extend this shape and turn it into a major pentatonic, two different arpeggios, and all major modes.
Let’s start with just playing it as an open-position chord, because this is where the problems begin—especially when it comes to finger placement.
Theoretically, you should play this using all five strings. However, this is kind of impossible, especially as a moveable chord shape. So how do you fret it?
Fretting the A Chord: What Chord Boxes Don’t Tell You
Don’t let a sadistic beginner teacher—or your ideals—beat you down. The truth about the A chord is that you can’t really play it the way it looks in a chord box, or in the Chordacus image above.
It takes too long to fret the full shape, so let’s ignore the top string. Suddenly, it’s super easy!
And just ignoring that top string is only the beginning of making the A chord/shape useful. Here are all the practical ways you can actually play it:
- Strings 3–5: This gives you an A5 chord—there’s no 3rd.
- Strings 2–5: Now we have a full A chord, thanks to the 3rd on string 2.
- Strings 2–4: Still a complete A chord with the 5th, root, and 3rd. On piano, we’d call this 2nd inversion. On guitar, we just call it an A shape.
- Strings 1–3: Also a complete chord—root, 3rd, and 5th. On piano, this is root position.
To learn how to play the A chord—not just fret it—you need songs that use it. Without this real-world experience, all this knowledge remains theoretical. After all, learning guitar is a practical journey, not an academic one.
Among the beginner songs, we play the A chord in Robin Hood by Ocean Colour Scene. In Wonderwall by Oasis, we play it as an A7sus4.
Intermediate acoustic songs with the A chord include Babylon, Hey There Delilah, Mad World, and Whistle for the Choir.
Learn these songs and you’ll have no trouble playing the A chord in the open-position, as well as navigating it as a CAGED shape.
Exploring All Possible A-shaped Chord Extensions
Below are all the possible extensions using an A-shaped chord. If you can see the intervals surrounding the A shape, you can play all of these chords.
- A major chord (root, 5th, root, 3rd, 5th)
- Asus2 (root, 5, root, 2)
- Aadd9 (root, 5, 9, 3)
- Asus4 (root, 5, root, 4)
- A7sus4 (root, 5, b7, 4)
- A6 (root, 5, root, 3, 6)
- Amaj7 (root, 5, 7, 3, 5)
- A7 (root, 5, b7, 3, 5)
- Amaj9 (root, 3, 7, 9)
- A7#9 (root, 3, b7, #9)
- A11 (root, 4, b7, 2)
- A13 (root, 5, b7, 3, 6)
You need actual songs that use these chords to hear and experience their sound in context. Without that, you simply won’t learn them properly.
Building Scales and Arpeggios Around the A Chord/Shape
By using the A-shaped chord as our foundation, we can build various arpeggios and scales, including the maj7 arpeggio, dom7 arpeggio, major pentatonic, and the major scale (Ionian), as well as Lydian and Mixolydian modes.
Below are the intervals used to construct these arpeggios and scales around the A-shaped chord.
Once you can identify all the intervals within the chord shape, you’ll be able to play these arpeggios and scales with ease.
The A Chord | Related Pages
Guitar chords
Through the CAGED system, you can learn how to build both minor and major guitar chords.
This system forms the foundation for extending chords and building arpeggios and modes.
The Am chord
The Am chord is incredibly easy to fret, both as an open-position chord and as a barre chord shape. It’s a great starting point for beginners.
You need to do is identify the intervals surrounding it, focusing on how the root, third, and fifth change in relation to one another as you explore extensions and modes.
Beginner Acoustic
This collection of beginner acoustic songs will teach you how to arrange for a solo acoustic guitar and create supporting parts.
By playing these songs, you’ll improve your ability to switch between open-position chords, while gaining the context needed to understand music theory in practice.