A/E Chord on Guitar

1,008 guitar chords with several shapes each, finger numbers, difficulty and real sound, in any tuning.

A/E means “A with E in the bass”: play a A major chord and make E the lowest note. Because E is already in the chord (its fifth), this is the second inversion of A.

The notes, low to high, are E, A, C♯. The library above opens on A/E with 14 shapes that keep E at the bottom; tap one to hear it.

Notes in A/E

Note	Degree	Interval from A	Semitones
A	1	root	0
C♯	3	major third	4
E	5 (bass)	perfect fifth	7

Formula: 1 – 3 – 5.

How to play A/E

Open positionBeginner002220

Open positionBeginner0422xx

Fret 2Beginnerxx222x

Fret 6Beginnerx776xx

Fret 9Beginnerxxx9(10)9

Fret 11Beginner(12)(12)(11)xxx

Open position (bass on the 6th string), step by step

1st finger (index): 4th string, 2nd fret (E, the fifth).
2nd finger (middle): 3rd string, 2nd fret (A, the root).
3rd finger (ring): 2nd string, 2nd fret (C♯, the major third).
Let the 6th string, 5th string, 1st string ring open (E, A, E).
Strum from the 6th string across all six strings.

How A/E is used

With the fifth in the bass, A/E sounds like a chord on its way somewhere. In the classic “A over E” move it often sits between two chords whose bass notes are a step away.

In A major, F♯m – A/E – D walks the bass down step by step (F♯, E, D) while the chords on top change. Played the other way, D – A/E – F♯m, the bass climbs.

When a chord sheet writes A/E, play the chord on top and let E be the lowest string you strum; if you play with a bass player, the bass plays E.