A7 chord on guitar

A7 is the A seventh chord, made of the notes A C# E G. Most guitarists play it as X 0 2 0 2 0, an open chord. Below are all 6 ways to hold A7 on the guitar, from the lowest on the neck to the highest, and the same chord in Drop D and DADGAD. The TabTunix app plays each one. Check out our full chord library.

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1fr12
A7

X 0 2 0 2 0

Notes

Degrees: R 3 5 b7. Notes: A C# E G.

Tuning

Inversions

Voicings

How to play A7

The shape most players use is X 0 2 0 2 0, from the lowest string to the highest. Hold it like this:

  1. Put your index finger on the D string at fret 2.
  2. Put your middle finger on the B string at fret 2.
  3. Let the A, G and high E strings ring open.
  4. Do not play the low E string.
1fr12
A7
X 0 2 0 2 0

6 ways to play A7

Every shape the chord library holds for A7 in standard tuning, from low on the neck to high. In each one A is the lowest note; they differ in where your hand sits and in which strings ring.

More shapes, for every chord: all guitar chords.

  • 1fr12
    A7
    X 0 2 0 2 0
    open shape
  • 2fr432
    A7
    5 4 2 2 2 3
    barre at fret 2
  • 4fr2134
    A7
    5 4 5 6 X X
    closed shape at fret 4
  • 5fr32
    A7
    5 7 5 6 5 5
    barre at fret 5
  • 6fr2134
    A7
    X X 7 6 8 9
    closed shape at fret 6
  • 7fr1324
    A7
    X X 7 9 8 9
    closed shape at fret 7

The notes in A7

R35b7
AC#EG

A seventh chord is the root, the major third, the fifth and the minor seventh: R 3 (5) b7. The fifth can be left out.

Put another of its notes in the bass and A7 becomes an inversion, written with a slash: A7/C#, A7/E and A7/G. Below, the first shape of each.

  • 1fr32
    A7/C#
    X 4 2 2 2 3
  • 1fr12
    A7/E
    0 0 2 0 2 0
  • 1fr312
    A7/G
    3 0 2 0 2 0

Keys and progressions with A7

A7 is one of the chords of these keys, with its number in each. The chords of a key are the chords built on the notes of its scale.

  • V7 in D major
  • bVII7 in B minor

It stands in these chord progressions of the app, in the key each opens in:

  • 12-Bar Blues in A major: A7, D7, E7
  • Quick-Change Blues in E major: E7, A7, B7
  • 8-Bar Blues in A major: A7, E7, D7

In the 12-Bar Blues every chord is a seventh: in A major it is A7, D7 and E7, in E major E7, A7 and B7.

A7 in Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD

  • In Drop D you hold A7 as in Standard: X 0 2 0 2 0.
  • In Drop C, A7 is X 2 1 2 0 2, where Standard has X 0 2 0 2 0.
  • In Drop B, A7 is X 3 2 3 1 0, where Standard has X 0 2 0 2 0.
  • In DADGAD, A7 is X 0 2 0 4 2, where Standard has X 0 2 0 2 0.

More on each tuning: Drop D, Drop C, Drop B and DADGAD, all under guitar tunings.

  • 1fr12
    A7 in Drop D
    X 0 2 0 2 0
  • 1fr2134
    A7 in Drop C
    X 2 1 2 0 2
  • 1fr3241
    A7 in Drop B
    X 3 2 3 1 0
  • 1fr142
    A7 in DADGAD
    X 0 2 0 4 2

Get the change up to tempo

A chord is yours when you can change to it in time. In TabTunix, put A7 and the chord before it into a chord-change exercise, set a target tempo, and play the change to a click that counts you through it. Rate each take, and the app keeps your best tempo, so you see it climb.

More on how to change chords faster.

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Questions about A7

A, C#, E and G. As degrees they are R 3 (5) b7: the root, the major third, the fifth and the minor seventh.