Am guitar chord
Am (A minor) is built from A, C and E, the degrees 1–b3–5. On guitar, the main shape is x 0 2 2 1 0, the first diagram, marked with the star.
From A major to Am, a single note moves — and it feels like the season changed. Press play down there and check.
Hear Am before you play
Why Am sounds this way
The trick is smaller than it sounds. Two of the three notes didn't move: A and E stayed put. Only the middle one dropped — a half step, the smallest distance in music — and became C. Play the arpeggio again, no rush and stop at the second note. That's the one. Half a step separates a sunny day from a Monday morning.
How to play Am on guitar
On the guitar, six strings give the chord room to breathe — some positions use them all, others ask you to mute the lowest ones. So the first position below is your way in (2 open strings helping) — it's the main shape — that's why it carries the ⭐. And do the exercise that's worth a whole lesson: A major, then Am, then major again. Back and forth ten times, slowly. Your ear learns the difference before your brain does.
In the app: 28 Am shapes on guitar
With the fingering and audio of each one, free. In the app, the arpeggio of each shape is part of Pro.
Precision Tuner: Get in tune before you play: chromatic tuner and reference tones, free in standard tuning · try it in Chord and Fret
Got the first one? Good — the other positions will wait right here. In songs that travel up and down the neck, that's where you'll end up living.
Left-handed? Mirror's right here
Am notes and degrees
Am stacks the root A, the minor third C and the perfect fifth E.
Where Am shows up
In real music, Am works almost always as v in D minor, iv in E minor, i in A minor. In pop everywhere it tends to be the famous vi — the chord the chorus runs to when it wants to get serious without changing key. You've heard it a thousand times; now you'll start noticing it.
Transpose & Capo: Need it in another key? Transpose the progression for free; finding the best capo is part of Pro · see it in Chord and Fret
Identify Chord: Found a shape on your fretboard? Mark it on the screen and the app names the chord, 5 times a day for free · open in Chord and Fret
Real songs pass through here: Pop · pop axis · Pop · axis rotation · Choro · circle-of-fifths progression · Jazz · rhythm changes (A section) · Flamenco · Andalusian cadence
Where Am usually goes
Treating Am as the home chord (i) of a minor key, it usually moves toward the pre-dominant (Dm) or the dominant (E7, from harmonic minor), and the dominant pulls back home. It's a tendency, not a law.
Going beyond Am
When it's time to improvise, A Dorian (A B C D E F# G · 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7: the minor scale with a major sixth — the minor that smirks); A Aeolian (A B C D E F G · 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7: the natural minor, the major scale's relative sibling); A Phrygian (A Bb C D E F G · 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7: the minor with a lowered second — a Spanish seasoning) work in full. The swaps below are the chord's cousins: different color, same job.
A Dorian
In the app: the 7 positions of A Dorian on guitar
With degree, note and finger labels on each one, free. Playing the whole scale is part of Pro.
The same A Dorian in its main shapes along the neck — pick whichever position sits under your hand. The rings mark the guide notes (the 3rd and 7th) that carry this chord's color.
Scale: The scale's positions across the neck, with degree, note and finger labels, free; playing the scale and the tempo-ramp exercise are part of Pro · use it in Chord and Fret
Scales to improvise over Am
To improvise over Am as home, the A Aeolian scale fits entirely: it contains every note of the chord. The best fit depends on the key, the surrounding chords and the tensions you want. And when the dominant (E) pulls back, the leading tone Ab is the note that wants to resolve home.
Swaps that work:
Reharmonize: Want richer substitutions? Reharmonize's Subtle and Medium levels are free; Bold and Jazz are part of Pro · use it in Chord and Fret
There's one step left in this story. The serious Am you just learned has a softer, late-afternoon version that lo-fi and bossa nova love: Am7. Go hear the difference.
Am chord questions
What notes are in the Am chord?
The Am chord is made of the notes A, C and E.
How do you play Am on guitar?
Form the shape from string 6 to string 1: x 0 2 2 1 0. “x” means that string does not sound. “0” means play it open.
What chord comes after Am?
Treating Am as the home chord (i) of a minor key, it usually moves toward the pre-dominant (Dm) or the dominant (E7, from harmonic minor), and the dominant pulls back home. It's a tendency, not a law.
What scale works over Am?
To improvise over Am as home, the A Aeolian scale fits entirely: it contains every note of the chord. The best fit depends on the key, the surrounding chords and the tensions you want.