The Amaj9 guitar chord is built from the notes A, C#, E, G#, B. Its first guitar voicing is the movable voicing: low E string at fret 5 (little finger); A string open; D string at fret 2 (index finger); G string at fret 4 (ring finger); B string at fret 2 (middle finger); high e string at fret 4 (little finger). It is a major 9th chord, and this page gives you its exact notes, the fingerings that work on the guitar, the mistakes to avoid and the progressions it appears in.
What notes are in the Amaj9 chord?
The Amaj9 chord is a major 9th chord, and its notes are fixed: A, C#, E, G#, B. Every voicing on every instrument uses these same notes, in some order and in some octave — change one of them and you are playing a different chord. The table below lists each note with its interval from the root A, so you can see the structure of Amaj9 at a glance. On the guitar, the movable voicing voicing is the place to hear it in Amaj9.
| Note | Interval |
|---|---|
| A | Root |
| C# | 3 |
| E | 5 |
| G# | 7 |
| B | 9 |
The root is A, the note the chord is named after and the note your ear hears as home. Above it, the intervals in Amaj9 are 3, 5, 7, 9. Those intervals are the fingerprint of the major 9th quality — any chord with the same interval pattern, on any root, is the same kind of chord. On the guitar, the notes appear in the order the fingering dictates, but the set of notes never changes.
Amaj9 sounds smooth and spacious, the sound of jazz ballads, neo-soul and soft pop. Listen for that character when you play it — if Amaj9 does not sound that way, one of the notes is probably wrong, and the table above is the place to check. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes A, C#, E, G#, B in Amaj9.
Comparing Amaj9 with its closest relatives helps to fix it in your ear. In short, major 9th against dominant 9th: Amaj9 keeps the major 7th G#; the dominant 9th flattens it to G. The major 9th sounds dreamy; the dominant 9th sounds bluesy. Practise the two chords back to back and listen to the one note that changes — that single note is the difference between the two chords. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes A, C#, E, G#, B in Amaj9.
How to play Amaj9 on guitar
On the guitar, Amaj9 has 3 voicings in the data below, and each one uses the same notes — A, C#, E, G#, B — in a different place on the neck. Start with the first voicing and get it clean before you try the movable shapes further up the neck. Finger numbers below use 1 for the index finger, 2 for the middle finger, 3 for the ring finger and 4 for the little finger, and x means the string is not played.
For the movable voicing, Amaj9 sits in around fret 2: low E string at fret 5 (little finger); A string open; D string at fret 2 (index finger); G string at fret 4 (ring finger); B string at fret 2 (middle finger); high e string at fret 4 (little finger). The stretch is the challenge: the fretted notes span from fret 2 to fret 5, so keep your thumb low behind the neck and let your fingers reach rather than squeezing the neck. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in Amaj9 — A, C#, E, G#, B — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
The barre chord puts Amaj9 in around fret 2: low E string at fret 5 (little finger); A string at fret 4 (middle finger); D string at fret 2 (index finger); G string at fret 2 (index finger); B string open; high e string at fret 4 (ring finger). It barres across strings 3 to 4 at fret 2 with the index finger. The barre is the hard part: the index finger must press every string from 3 to 4 evenly at fret 2, so roll it slightly onto its bony side and keep it close to the fret wire. If the barre buzzes, move it a fraction closer to the fret and press from the arm, not the thumb alone. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in Amaj9 — A, C#, E, G#, B — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
The movable voicing puts Amaj9 in around fret 2: low E string at fret 5 (little finger); A string at fret 4 (middle finger); D string at fret 2 (index finger); G string at fret 4 (ring finger); B string open; high e string at fret 4 (little finger). The stretch is the challenge: the fretted notes span from fret 2 to fret 5, so keep your thumb low behind the neck and let your fingers reach rather than squeezing the neck. Strum or pluck it slowly first and check that every note in Amaj9 — A, C#, E, G#, B — sounds, with no buzz and no accidental open string.
Choosing between the voicings of Amaj9 is a musical decision, not a right-or-wrong one. The open or low-position voicing rings the most and suits strumming, while a barre or movable voicing lets you slide Amaj9 up the neck to any key without changing the shape. When you change chords, pick the voicing of Amaj9 that sits closest to the chord before it — shorter moves between shapes mean faster, cleaner changes. Practise the change into Amaj9 from the chord that comes before it in your song, not the chord on its own, because the move is the skill. On the guitar, the movable voicing voicing is the place to hear it in Amaj9.
A short practice routine for Amaj9 on the guitar: play the first voicing four times slowly, checking each note, then change to it from the chord a fourth above A and back, four times, at a slow tempo. Then play the second voicing the same way. If a note buzzes, stop and fix the finger placement rather than playing through the buzz — clean notes at a slow tempo become clean notes at full tempo, while buzzes practised fast become habits. Use the Guitar Chord Finder to see the diagram for Amaj9 while you practise, and the Chord Finder to compare it with the same chord on other instruments.
Common mistakes
These are the mistakes that most often make Amaj9 sound wrong on the guitar, and each one has a concrete fix. Work through them one at a time rather than trying to fix everything at once.
Forgetting the 9th. Without B this is just a major 7th chord. The 9th is the note that makes it a 9th. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes A, C#, E, G#, B in Amaj9.
Barre collapsing on the high strings. In a barre voicing of Amaj9, the high strings are the ones that buzz first, because the index finger presses hardest near the thumb. If the top notes of Amaj9 sound dead, roll the barring finger slightly toward the fret and press from the arm, not from squeezing the neck. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes A, C#, E, G#, B in Amaj9.
Flattening the 7th. If the 7th is G instead of G#, the chord becomes a dominant 9th with a different function. Keep the 7th major. On the guitar, the movable voicing of Amaj9 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Crowding five notes. Five notes need space. Drop the 5th (E) and spread the rest across octaves so the 9th B can ring. On the guitar, the movable voicing of Amaj9 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Where Amaj9 is used
Amaj9 is not a diatonic triad in any major or minor key, because it is an extended or altered chord, but its base triad belongs to the key of D major, the key of E major, the key of A major. the I or IV chord in major keys, the richest-sounding tonic colour available. As a dominant-type chord it also points toward D major, the key a perfect fourth above A, which is the tonic it most often resolves to. That is where Amaj9 does its work: not as a home chord, but as a chord that creates movement and then resolves. On the guitar, start with the first voicing above and listen for the notes A, C#, E, G#, B in Amaj9.
Because Amaj9 is an extended or altered chord, it appears in progressions as a colour or a dominant rather than as a diatonic staple. Try it in place of the plain A triad in a progression you already know, and listen to how the extra notes change the feel — that substitution is the usual way extended chords enter real music. The Chord Progression Builder lets you try Amaj9 in a progression in any key and hear how it connects to the chords around it. On the guitar, the movable voicing of Amaj9 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
The same chord on other instruments is covered in Amaj9 on piano, Amaj9 on ukulele, Amaj9 on bass, and the scales that fit over it are the A major scale and the A minor pentatonic scale. Learning Amaj9 on the guitar and then checking it on another instrument is one of the best ways to fix the notes — A, C#, E, G#, B — in your memory, because the notes stay the same while everything else changes.
Practising Amaj9
A short worked example makes Amaj9 concrete. Play the four-chord progression D – A – Bm – G in D major, the key Amaj9 most often resolves toward: D – A – Bm – G. Play each chord for one bar at a slow tempo, and listen to how Amaj9 sounds in that sequence — whether it feels like home, like a lift, or like a chord on its way somewhere else. Then play the same four chords in a different order, starting on Amaj9 itself, and notice how its character changes when it opens the progression instead of sitting inside it. On the guitar, the movable voicing voicing is the place to hear it in Amaj9.
For a second exercise, play Amaj9 and then the chord a fourth above A, back and forth, four times each. That move — a chord and the chord a fourth above it — is the most common resolution in Western music, and it is the move Amaj9 is built for when it acts as a dominant. Finish by playing Amaj9 on its own, slowly, and naming each note out loud as you play it: A, C#, E, G#, B. Naming the notes while you play them is what turns a shape into knowledge you can use in any key. Test yourself with the Practice Chord Quiz and keep time with the Metronome as the tempo rises. On the guitar, the movable voicing of Amaj9 puts those notes under your fingers in the order the fingering lists them.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Amaj9 and Amaj7?
Amaj9 adds the 9th B to the major 7th chord. That extra note widens the sound and makes the chord feel more open and spacious. On the guitar, the voicings above put that note under your fingers.
How do you play Amaj9 on the guitar?
The first voicing is the movable voicing: frets 5–0–2–4–2–4, fingers 4–0–1–3–2–4, on the guitar. That voicing uses the notes A, C#, E, G#, B, and it is the one to learn first. The page above lists more voicings for Amaj9, so you can choose the shape nearest the chords around it.
Is Amaj9 hard to play on the guitar?
It depends on the voicing. The first voicing of Amaj9 on the guitar is the easiest starting point, and the movable voicings further up the neck are harder because they need a barre or a wider stretch. Practise the first voicing cleanly at a slow tempo before you try the others, and the harder shapes will come more easily.
What is the easiest voicing of Amaj9 on the guitar?
The movable voicing is the easiest voicing listed for Amaj9 on the guitar: frets 5–0–2–4–2–4, fingers 4–0–1–3–2–4. Learn that shape first, get every note ringing cleanly, and only then move on to the alternative voicings further up the neck.
What notes are in Amaj9?
Amaj9 contains A, C#, E, G#, B: root A, major 3rd C#, perfect 5th E, major 7th G# and the 9th B. It is a major 7th chord with the 9th added on top. On the guitar, the voicings above put that note under your fingers.