# A7, the A dominant 7 guitar chord

A7 is an open, twangy chord that pulls the music back toward D or E, so you’ll hear it in country and blues turnarounds. Its two fingers sit with a gap between them, and the gap is the trap. The open G string in the middle has to ring, so keep both fingers well arched.

A7

## How to play it

- Index finger on the D string (4th), 2nd fret.
- Ring finger on the B string (2nd), 2nd fret.
- Let the open A string (5th), G string (3rd) and high E string (1st) ring.
- Don't strum the low E string (6th). It stays silent in this shape.

## Changes to practice

Holding A7 still is the easy part. Songs need you to _arrive_ at it in rhythm, so in Strumhold you practice A7 as changes, alongside the rest of the Open 7ths set:

- [A7 ↔ E7](https://strumhold.com/chords/e-7/) A dominant 7 to E dominant 7 [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/A.7.A~E.7.E)
- [A7 ↔ D7](https://strumhold.com/chords/d-7/) A dominant 7 to D dominant 7 [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/A.7.A~D.7.D)
- [A7 ↔ G7](https://strumhold.com/chords/g-7/) A dominant 7 to G dominant 7 [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/A.7.A~G.7.G)
- [A7 ↔ C7](https://strumhold.com/chords/c-7/) A dominant 7 to C dominant 7 [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/A.7.A~C.7.C)

## Same root, different color

- [A](https://strumhold.com/chords/a-major/), A major
- [Am](https://strumhold.com/chords/a-minor/), A minor
- [Am7](https://strumhold.com/chords/a-minor-7/), A minor 7
- [Amaj7](https://strumhold.com/chords/a-major-7/), A major 7

## Hear yourself get faster

Strumhold listens to your guitar through your device's mic, a headset, or a line-in from your audio interface. You drill a chord change to a metronome and it scores every single change. Free, no account, works offline.

[Drill A7 in the app](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/A.7.A~E.7.E)