Amaj7 — the A major 7 guitar chord
Amaj7 floats. Songwriters reach for it when plain A is too cheerful and they want something dreamier. It lives in the same neighborhood as A, but the index drops back to the 1st fret, and the middle finger above it loves to lean over and mute that note. Keep both on their very tips.
How to play it
- Index finger on the G string (3rd), 1st fret.
- Middle finger on the D string (4th), 2nd fret.
- Ring finger on the B string (2nd), 2nd fret.
- Let the open A string (5th) and high E string (1st) ring.
- Don't strum the low E string (6th). It stays silent in this shape.
Changes to practice
Holding Amaj7 still is the easy part. Songs need you to arrive at it in rhythm, so in Strumhold you practice Amaj7 as changes, alongside the rest of the Open Major 7ths set:
- Amaj7 ↔ Dmaj7 A major 7 to D major 7
- Amaj7 ↔ Gmaj7 A major 7 to G major 7
- Amaj7 ↔ Cmaj7 A major 7 to C major 7