Chord of the Month – A5

 “A” Chord with no 3rds (only root and 5ths). Avoiding 3rds creates sparseness / drama / release.The easiest way to play this is by barring across fret 2 with your first finger to cover the top four strings (E,B,G,D), and then use your little finger to barre across the first two strings at fret five. Then as you play it make sure you hit the Open A string too, and it’ll sound huge.

Try it, its not nearly as painful as it looks!  Use it in songs that alternate between D and A chords like ‘Forever’ by Chris Tomlin. This A5 shape sounds particularly good when using overdrive or distortion too, so give it a whirl!