Amajor

The A major chord

( the numbers above are telling you what fingers to use )

The numbers in the above diagram tell you which note from the scale each of your fingers is holding.

Play the scale along the A string ( 2nd from the top )

As numbers this is -

Now go along to the 5th note ( E )

The 5th note of the A scale ( E ) on the A string,

can also be played as the 2nd note on the next string down, the D string

E is the 5th note of the Amajor scale and is the top note of the Amajor Chord.

Now for the middle note of the Amajor chord.

The 1st note and the 8th note in any scale are the same. They are 'an octave' apart The 2nd fret of the G string , is the note of A - it's an octave ( 8notes ) higher than the 1st note, - the open A string.

We could call it either 'the 1st' or 'the 8th' note - but to keep things simple we can refer to it as the first note - or the 'tonic' note.

This is where the chord gets its name 'A'.

Remember, chords are made up of the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes.

We've established where the 5th and 1st notes occur in the A major chord.

The next note is the 3rd

We can play this note with the other two to make the Amajor chord, but we usually use the open A string for the A bass.

The third note of the Amajor scale is actually C# ( see the diagram at the top )

We can also play C# as the 2nd note along the B string.

So all of the notes in the Amajor chord are:

Note that this comprises : 3 notes played with 3 fingers

and one open string - the bass string immediately above the other 3.

Can I play the other open strings too ? Yes !

The A major chord is made up of: A(1st), C#(3rd) , E(5th) so

the remaining strings, the E bass and the treble E are duplications of the 5th note.

Next:

Adding other notes to the Amajor chord shape.

(added on the 5th of August 2012 )