guitarchords

Scale degree map

Every chord in a key has a job: it feels like home, it moves away, or it builds tension that wants to resolve. Tap a chord to hear it and see where it wants to go.

  • HomeI iii viStable. Phrases end here.
  • Awayii IVMoves off home without urgency.
  • TensionV vii°Pulls hard back toward I.

The seven chords of A major

tap to hear
Amajor
common
strongest
where I goes · thicker = stronger pullchords that lead into I

Home chord · Tonic

A major

Home — feels stable, resolved, home

All A voicings

The gravitational center. Everything resolves here.

Where it wants to go

Heard in

  • Arcade Fire — "Wake Up"
  • LCD Soundsystem — "All My Friends"

Play A major on guitar

Start with the plain chord, then colour it.
EADGBe12312345
  • ARoot
  • C♯3
  • E5

Colour it

dashed = needs a note from outside A major
Base
Colour
Richness
Suspension
AClean, simple, openIn A major

Go further in A major

How phrases end: the moves that create (or deny) resolution.

  • VEIA
    Authentic (V→I)The strongest resolution. Tension → release. The sound of arriving home.
  • IVDIA
    Plagal (IV→I)The "Amen" cadence. Gentler than V→I. Settling rather than snapping.
  • VEviF♯m
    Deceptive (V→vi)You expect home, you get the relative minor instead. The sound of a twist ending.
  • IAVE
    Half (→V)Ends ON the tension, not after it. The musical cliffhanger. Phrase feels unfinished.