The A7 Chord

The A7 chord for guitar is a great tool to add a little bit of a more interesting sound to the standard A chord. The added 7th note gives any song you're playing or writing a bit of a longing feeling.

The 7th chord is used very often in jazz music and, as such, will give whatever song you're playing, or writing, a "jazzy sound.

In today's lesson you will learn how to play the A7 chord in a few different positions, as well as how to build a chord progression around it (with a sample progression to get you started).

Let's get to playing!

How To Play The A7 Chord

This is a very easy version of the A7 chord. You only need to hold down two strings. To form this chord you put your:

middle finger (2) on the E note of the D string on the 2nd fret
ring finger (3) on the C# note on the B string at the 2nd fret
mute the low E string
play the A and high e string open

Variations Of The Chord

There are multiple ways of playing A7. Let's learn some of these alternate versions.

This first variation is on the 5th fret:

index finger (1) on the F# note of the low E string at the 2nd fret
middle finger (2) on the E note of the D string at the 2nd fret
ring finger (3) on the C# note on the B string at the 2nd fret
pinky finger (4) on the D note on the G string at the 3rd fret

In this diagram, the A7 chord is played while barring the 2nd fret. Play this version with your:

index finger (1) fretting across the D, G, and B strings at the 2nd fret
ring finger (3) fretting the G note on the high e string at the 3rd fret
mute the low E and A strings

A7 can also be played at various points using barre chords along the fretboard. Here is an example on the 5th fret:

The E7 shape is very versatile for playing chords up and down the fretboard. You just place your:

index finger (1) barred across the six strings on the 5th fret
middle finger (2) on the C# note of the G string at the 6th fret
ring finger (3) on the E note on the A string at the 7th fret

The Theory Behind It

Learning how to play some chords is one thing, but knowing how to build those, and other, chords on your own is a whole new, and valuable, skill set.

Here is how to build an A7 chord.

To build a major chord you take the I, III, and V notes of that chord's major scale to build, what is called, a major triad.

To build an A major chord you would use the notes:

The A major scale looks like this:

To take your major chord and make it into a 7th chord, you just simply add in a bVII or flat 7th. So an A7 would be:

A (I)
C# (III)
E (V)
G (VII)

Complementary Chords

Learning a new chord is like getting a taste of a sweet new candy. You want to eat it all as quickly as possible.

Well, like that kid with candy, you will want to play with this new chord in as many progressions as you can imagine. Here's how to build a chord progression AND a sample one to get you started playing around.

The A major chord scale looks like this:

The chords available in the A major chord scale are:

A (I)
Bm (ii)
C#m (iii)
D (IV)
E (E)
F#m (vi)
G#dim (vii°)

Note: when a scale degree is lower case (example "iv") that means it is a minor chord.

You can build your own chord progression pulling chords from this chord scale. For the example below we used the progression I7-iii-vi-IV7 or A7-C#m-F#m-D7.

This is how you play that progression:

A Couple A7 Chord Variations

If you want to add even more flair to your A7 chord, here are a few more variations you can try out.

The A7sus4 replaces the C# or III in the A chord with a D or IV note. It gives the chord more a suspenseful feel and keeps the listener wanting to hear what comes next. To play it you put your:

index finger (1) fretting the E note on the D string at the 2nd fret
ring finger (3) fretting the D note on the B string at the 3rd fret
mute the low E string and play the A string open

This final version is an A7add11. To form this chord you simply add an 11th note to the chord formula. The 11th note is the same as the IV note one octave higher.

This is the simplest chord of them all.

index finger (1) fretting the C note on the B string at the 2nd fret
mute the low E string and play everything else open

Songs That Have The A7 Chord

Here are some popular songs across multiple genres that have an A7 chord in them:

409 by The Beach Boys
Bad Moon Rising by CCR
Breakfast At Tiffany's by Deep Blue Something
Get Back by The Beatles
Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffet
Rehab by Amy Winehouse
Sweater Weather by Neighbourhood
Twist and Shout by The Beatles

Final Word

The A7 chord is a great and simple chord you can use to spice up any chord progression. You know how to build the chord as well as play it in various positions along the neck. You have also learned how to build a chord progression around it.

Now get out there and write your next (or your first) song!