The A Minor chord (written as Am) is one of the most critical open chords to learn when you begin your journey to play guitar. It has a warm, melancholy tone and features heavily in folk, rock, and pop music.
To play A Minor on our guitar online tool or on a real acoustic guitar, use this fretboard layout:
A Minor is a minor triad formed using notes from the A Natural Minor scale:
Notice how close the A Minor shape is to C Major. By moving just one finger (your ring finger from the 3rd fret A string to the 2nd fret G string), you can switch between A Minor and C Major. This connection makes them relative major/minor keys!
Your middle and ring fingers both sit on the 2nd fret (on the D and G strings). Squeeze them close together within the fret space so that neither finger drifts on top of the metal fret wire, which causes buzzing.
The progression of **Am - C - G - D** is one of the most famous chord progressions ever. Practice moving through these four chords smoothly to play thousands of folk and pop hits.
Open our interactive virtual guitar simulator to hear this chord's tones and build muscle memory.
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