How to Play the Open Position Am Chord and CAGED Am Shape
The Am chord is one of the easiest to fret, and it transitions seamlessly into a movable shape—arguably the simplest of all CAGED shapes when it comes to finger placement.
Below, you can see it both as an open-position chord and as a barre chord shape, as shown in the Chordacus image. There’s little complexity here—just straightforward finger placement.
When you turn the Am chord into a movable shape, you’ll barre with your index finger across the strings, ensuring the top string is fretted. Alternatively, you can mute the top string with the fleshy part of your index finger, playing strings 2-5 instead.
In this shape, the intervals are: root, 5th, root, minor 3rd, and if you include the top string, another 5th.
A great exercise is to practice this Am shape through the cycle of 4ths. Start on Am, then move to Dm, Gm, Cm, Fm, Bbm, Ebm, Abm, Dbm, Gbm, Bm, and Em. This will help you internalise the shape across the neck.
For the next level of the exercise, try playing the Am-shaped chord on strings 1-3 as you move through the cycle of 4ths.
You can also play on strings 2-4, where the root is now in the middle of the shape. This is essentially an Am chord in its 2nd inversion, with the order of intervals being 5th, root, minor 3rd.
As you work through this, it’s essential to visualise the root in the middle of the shape. In the mini course for chords, you’ll find video lessons to guide you through this process in detail.
Am Chord Extensions
Now let’s explore extending the Am chord. Below are the possible extensions you can create by understanding the intervals surrounding the Am shape.
- Am chord (root, 5th, root, m3rd, 5th)
- Amadd9 (root, 5th, 9, m3rd)
- Am6 (root, root, m3rd, 6)
- Am7 (root, 5th, b7, m3rd, 5th)
- Am7b5 (root, b5, b7, m3rd)
- Adim7 (root, b5, bb7, m3rd)
- Ammaj7 (root, 5, 7, m3rd)
- Am11 (root, 4/11, b7, m3rd)
While practicing these extensions and memorising them is helpful, simply going through exercises like the cycle of 4ths isn’t enough. To truly internalise these shapes, you must experience them within the context of real songs.
You can begin by experimenting with extending chords in songs, even if the original recording doesn’t use extended chords. This approach will help solidify the shapes and their sound.
For instance, a great example of the Am7 is found in Bill Withers’s Ain’t No Sunshine. In Bob Dylan’s One More Cup of Coffee, the Amadd9 appears, though it’s played in a different shape.
In Damien Rice’s Cannonball, guitar 2 uses the Amadd9 in the open position with a capo on fret 1. Meanwhile, in The Beatles’ Blackbird, you’ll notice Am-shaped dim7 chords being played. Lastly, in T-Bone Walker’s Papa Ain’t Salty, there’s a fantastic Am7b5 substitution chord used in a lick.
By incorporating these extended chords into your playing, you’ll develop a deeper understanding of their function and sound.
Building Scales and Arpeggios Around the Am Chord/Shape
Now, let’s explore how we can build arpeggios and modes using the Am-shaped chord as our foundation.
- Am7 Arpeggio: Root, minor 3rd, 5th, b7, root, minor 3rd, 5th (with the top note being a b7).
By adding a 4th to these notes, we form the minor pentatonic scale.
If we keep all those notes and add the 2nd and the flat 6, we arrive at Aeolian (the natural minor scale).
Lower the 2nd to a flat 2, while keeping the b6, and we have the Phrygian scale.
Add the 2nd and 6th to the minor pentatonic and you get the Dorian scale.
As you can see, by understanding the Am shape and the intervals surrounding it, we can build a wide range of chords, arpeggios, and modes.
It’s all about combining your knowledge of the intervals within a chord or mode with how those intervals are mapped out on the Am shape. Practising exercises that reinforce this concept can be found in the SEPR.
To help with visualising this, here’s a diagram that covers all the intervals you’ll need to play each arpeggio and scale. Keep in mind, these intervals apply to all minor CAGED shapes!
The Am Chord | Related Pages
Guitar chords
You can learn to construct every major and minor guitar chord using the CAGED system.
This essential framework serves as the foundation for extending chords, as well as building arpeggios and modes all over the fretboard.
The A chord
The A chord is often one of the first challenges for beginners—how do you play all those notes across five strings?
The key to mastering this is learning how to play fractions of the chord, rather than always attempting the full shape.
Beginner Acoustic
This collection of beginner acoustic songs is designed to teach you how to arrange music for a single acoustic guitar, along with creating supporting parts.
As you learn to play songs, you’ll develop the ability to smoothly switch between open-position chords, gaining the theoretical understanding of how music functions in context.