A7 (A7)
A major minus the finger on the G string: two fingers, and the open G string supplies the seventh. It’s the home chord of a blues in A.
It’s played in open position, near the nut, and as a barre chord higher up the neck. It pulls toward D major: you hear it right before the return home in songs in D major, and all over the blues.
- Notes:
- A, C♯, E, G.
- Formula:
- 1, 3, 5, ♭7.
- Difficulty:
- Beginner.
- Strings played:
- 5 (from the A string).
Chord diagram
e|--0--| B|--2--| G|--0--| D|--2--| A|--0--| E|--x--|
Other positions
e|--5--| B|--5--| G|--6--| D|--5--| A|--7--| E|--5--|
Common mistakes
Open G string muted? Your middle finger, on the 2nd fret of the D string, is touching it. Curve it more.
High E string not ringing? Your ring finger, on the B string, is spilling over. Press right on the fingertip.
Variations
A: put a finger back on the G string, 2nd fret, to get back to A major.
e|--0--| B|--2--| G|--2--| D|--2--| A|--0--| E|--x--|
Heard in
A blues in A opens with four bars of A7. In a song in D major, A7 is the chord that leads you back home to D.
Often played with
The chords in its key, the ones you hear most often around A7.