A# Guitar Chord: 7 Easy Ways to Play (with Chord Charts)
A# Guitar Chord (7 Best Chords with Chord Charts)
At first glance, you might think the A# Major guitar chord, pronounced A Sharp, is one you can gloss over in your guitar studies. A more careful examination, however, will show you that A# shows up more than you think, and you'd do well to add this important combination of notes to your repertoire.
It might not always be front and center, but A# Major rears its head in jazzy-rock tunes like Steely Dan's Boston Rag; here are a few ways you can tackle the chord when you encounter it in a song.
How to Play the A# Chord
For many players, the barre chord version of A# Major is the easiest to remember and the most straightforward to play. If you know your major barre chord shape, you can just fret on the 6th fret and get your fingers into position. If you don't know the shape, however, it is as follows:
Use your 1st finger to bar the strings at the 6th fret
Place your 2nd finger on the 3rd string/7th fret
Place your 3rd finger on the 5th string/8rd fret
Place your 4th finger on the 4th string/8rd fret
A# Guitar Chord: 1st Fret
There's also a lesser-known barre version of A# Major you can play on the 1st fret:
Use your 1st finger to bar the strings at the 1st fret
Place your 2nd finger on the 4th string/3rd fret
Place your 3rd finger on the 3rd string/3rd fret
Place your 4th finger on the 2nd string/3rd fret
Mute string 6
A# Guitar Chord: Barre
And a "barre-like" variation you can try out on the 3rd fret:
Use your 1st finger to bar strings 2, 3, and 4 at the 3rd fret
Place your 2nd finger on the 5th string/3rd fret
Place your 3rd finger on the 6th string/4th fret
Place your 4th finger on the 1st string/4th fret
A# Guitar Chord: 5th Fret Variation
Executing a proper barre isn't something all guitarists can do (or want to do in every instance). If pulling off the barre chord is tricky, or you want to add some variety to how you play A# Major, you can head to the 5th fret to try this variation:
Place your 1st finger on the 5th string/5th fret
Place your 2nd finger on the 6th string/6th fret
Place your 3rd finger on the 2nd string/6th fret
Place your 4th finger on the 1st string/6th fret
Mute strings 3 and 4
A# Guitar Chord: Full Chords
All the remaining "full" versions of the A# Major chord will require high levels of dexterity and careful muting to ensure you're only playing the correct strings:
Variation #1
Place your 1st finger on the 6th string/6th fret
Place your 2nd finger on the 2nd string/6th fret
Place your 3rd finger on the 3rd string/7th fret
Mute strings 1, 4, and 5
Variation #2
Place your 1st finger on the 2nd string/6th fret
Place your 2nd finger on the 3rd string/7th fret
Place your 3rd finger on the 4th string/8th fret
Mute strings 1, 5, and 6
Variation #3
Place your 1st finger on the 4th string/8th fret
Place your 2nd finger on the 3rd string/10th fret
Place your 3rd finger on the 1st string/10th fret
Place your 4th finger on the 2nd string/11th fret
Tips for Sounding Great
With your high-fret chord variations especially, try to be precise with your fingering to ensure a great sound from your guitar. As you learn these different ways to play A# Major, you'll start to get a sense of which variants will sound best in different songs or scenarios.
Keep your ears open, fingers stretched, and, as always, happy practicing!