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How to Play The A Chord on Bass
The most common way to play the A Chord on bass is at the 7th position of the fretboard, on the A, D, and G strings. Play it with your ring, pinky, and middle fingers. Here’s how to place your fingers:
- Ring finger (3) on fret 7 of the A string
- Pinky finger (4) on fret 7 of the D string
- Middle finger (2) on fret 6 of the G string
The root note, A, is on the 7th fret of the D string, which you can see in the chord diagram below.
You can also play A major as a dyad, which means playing it with only the 2 primary intervals: the root (A) and the 3rd (C#).
You can use this A major arpeggio bass diagram to visualize and construct the A major chord in any position on your fretboard.
A Chord on Bass PDF
Other names for A Major
The A major chord can be written in several ways, including:
- A Major
- Amaj
- A
These notations all represent the same chord, built from the notes A, C#, and E.
Practicing the A chord on bass
The A chord is the root chord in the A major scale, so practice it in a 1-4-5 progression in the key of A major. This gives you the chords A – D – E.
The A major chord also sounds great as the V chord in the D major scale. Use it in a D major chord progression such as A – G – D.
Practice along to this simple, fun backing track.
