Amaj7 Chord on Guitar
Amaj7 = A – C# – E – G# (Root, Major 3rd, Perfect 5th, Major 7th)
Amaj7 alters the open A major shape by lightening one finger's job: X-0-2-1-2-0, with the note that used to sit at the second fret of the B string dropping to the first fret instead, while the other two fingers of the plain triad hold their ground on the D and G strings (exact finger assignment varies by player, but the fret pattern is the key change). That shift replaces the fifth (E) with the major seventh (G-sharp), giving the chord its soft, unresolved character.
Amaj7 takes A major's bright, slightly compressed sound and adds the same suspended shimmer any major seventh brings — less blunt, more textured, favored in jazz, bossa nova and gentler pop arrangements over the plain triad's more forceful resolution. Those same softer contexts make it a natural tonic choice in A major, and dropped into E major as the fourth-degree chord, it takes the punch out of a spot the plain triad would otherwise hit hard. Because the fingering pattern is so close to plain A major's, it's one of the easiest major-seventh chords to add to an existing A-major vocabulary, and a good candidate for the very first major seventh a guitarist learns once the open-chord basics feel secure. It's also a favorite chord for solo acoustic arrangements of jazz standards, since its warm, textured sound fills out a chord-melody arrangement in a way a plain triad alone often can't manage on a single instrument.
Fingerings
Barre (5th fret)
How to Practice It
The main technical note is precision on the middle fret assignments, since three fingers are still working in a tight cluster around the first and second frets — keep each fingertip as narrow and vertical as possible, exactly as with plain A major, and double-check the open high e and open A string both ring clear. A good drill is alternating rapidly between A major and Amaj7, moving only the finger responsible for the B string, which builds both the muscle memory for the swap and an ear for what the major seventh specifically contributes. Once comfortable, try substituting Amaj7 into a familiar song that normally uses plain A major, listening for how the softer color changes the overall mood of a verse or chorus without altering the underlying chord progression. As a final drill, hold Amaj7 for a slow four-count while consciously relaxing your shoulder and wrist, since tension carried from the arm rather than the hand itself is a common invisible cause of buzzing strings on this shape.
Common Progressions
- Imaj7–IVmaj7 in A major: Amaj7 – Dmaj7
- IVmaj7 in E major: E – Amaj7 – F#m – B7
- Imaj7–vi–ii–V in A major: Amaj7 – F#m7 – Bm7 – E7
FAQ
- Is Amaj7 hard to learn after A major?
- No — it's one of the more approachable major sevenths precisely because only one finger's position really changes from the plain A major shape, making it a natural next chord to add once the plain triad is comfortable.
- What note turns A major into Amaj7?
- The fifth (E) is replaced by the major seventh (G-sharp), a half-step below the root an octave up, which is the interval responsible for the chord's soft, suspended quality.
- Where does Amaj7 fit best musically?
- In slower, harmonically richer contexts — jazz standards, bossa nova, singer-songwriter ballads — where its unresolved shimmer suits the mood better than plain A major's more direct, settled sound.
- Can capo users still play Amaj7 easily?
- Yes — since the shape doesn't rely on any particular open string ringing at a specific pitch beyond the open A and high e, a capo simply transposes the whole chord up with the rest of the guitar, and the fingering itself never has to change.
- What's a common mistake when first learning Amaj7?
- Fretting hand tension from over-gripping is the most common issue, since the shape looks similar to plain A major and beginners often carry over the same squeeze even though Amaj7 needs a lighter touch on the string that changed. Its close fingering relationship to plain A major also makes it a useful diagnostic: if switching from A to Amaj7 introduces a buzz that wasn't there before, the culprit is almost always the newly repositioned index finger rather than anything else in the shape.
Amaj7 on other instruments: Amaj7 on Piano, Amaj7 on Ukulele. Related: how chords are built, chord finder.