# A, the A major guitar chord

A major is warm and punchy, and it sits next to E and D in thousands of songs. Three fingers share the 2nd fret, so the real problem is space. Crowded fingertips lean over and choke the high E. Stack them on their tips, and keep the low E string out of the strum.

A

## How to play it

- Index finger on the D string (4th), 2nd fret.
- Middle finger on the G string (3rd), 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 A still is the easy part. Songs need you to _arrive_ at it in rhythm, so in Strumhold you practice A as changes, alongside the rest of the Open Majors set:

- [A ↔ E](https://strumhold.com/chords/e-major/) A major to E major [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/A.maj.A~E.maj.E)
- [A ↔ D](https://strumhold.com/chords/d-major/) A major to D major [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/A.maj.A~D.maj.D)
- [A ↔ G](https://strumhold.com/chords/g-major/) A major to G major [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/A.maj.A~G.maj.G)
- [A ↔ C](https://strumhold.com/chords/c-major/) A major to C major [Drill](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/A.maj.A~C.maj.C)

## Same root, different color

- [Am](https://strumhold.com/chords/a-minor/), A minor
- [A7](https://strumhold.com/chords/a-7/), A dominant 7
- [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 A in the app](https://strumhold.app/#/drill/pair/A.maj.A~E.maj.E)