Which notes are in the Am chord?

Am contains the notes A, C and E. Relative to the root these are the degrees 1 – ♭3 – 5.

How many ways can you play Am?

Minory lists 2 guitar fingerings for Am, 1 of which is a barre shape. They all produce the same chord — what changes is the voicing and where it sits on the neck.

Is the Am chord hard to play?

Not really. The open position of Am uses open strings and needs no barre, which makes it approachable for beginners.

A minor · Guitar

Am Chord on Guitar

The Am chord (A minor) is built from the notes A, C and E. 2 different guitar fingerings for it are shown below.

Chord diagrams

Position 1open position

Fingering

string 6 (E): muted
string 5 (A): played open
string 4 (D): fret 2 — middle finger
string 3 (G): fret 2 — ring finger
string 2 (B): fret 1 — index finger
string 1 (E): played open

Position 2barre shape · starts at fret 5

Fingering

string 6 (E): fret 5 — index finger
string 5 (A): fret 7 — ring finger
string 4 (D): fret 7 — little finger
string 3 (G): fret 5 — index finger
string 2 (B): fret 5 — index finger
string 1 (E): fret 5 — index finger

Notes in this chord

Degrees: 1 – ♭3 – 5

How to play

Am has 1 open position and 1 barre shape. Start with the open voicing if you are new to it; the barre shapes exist to move the same chord further up the neck without changing the key.

Theory behind the chord

Minor chords sound darker than major ones because the third is lowered by a semitone. They carry the melancholic colour in most songs and pair naturally with their relative major. On Am this structure sits on the root A, so the degrees 1 – ♭3 – 5 map onto A, C and E. Am is the vi chord in the key of C major, the ii chord in G major and the iii chord in F major. Its relative major is C. It is often heard in the Am – F – C – G progression.

Frequently asked questions

Which notes are in the Am chord?: Am contains the notes A, C and E. Relative to the root these are the degrees 1 – ♭3 – 5.
How many ways can you play Am?: Minory lists 2 guitar fingerings for Am, 1 of which is a barre shape. They all produce the same chord — what changes is the voicing and where it sits on the neck.
Is the Am chord hard to play?: Not really. The open position of Am uses open strings and needs no barre, which makes it approachable for beginners.

Practise Am on your phone

Minory bundles the full chord library with a tuner, metronome and repertoire notebook — and it all works offline.