Am/G Chord
Open PositionOpen Am with G added on the low E at fret 3. Keep the Am fingering — index on the B string at fret 1, middle on the D string at fret 2, ring on the G string at fret 2 — and reach the pinky to the low E at fret 3. Some players use the thumb over the neck instead. The open A string rings above the G bass.
Am/G Chord
5th Fret · One FingerThe index laid flat across the D, G, B and high e strings at fret 5 — G, C, E and A, bottom to top. One finger, four notes, and G is already the lowest. Start the strum on the D string, and let the index tip touch the A string to keep it quiet.
Am/G Chord
9th Fret · A-String BassA four-note voicing with G on the A string at fret 10. Middle on the A string at fret 10 (G), ring on the D string at fret 10 (C), index on the G string at fret 9 (E), pinky on the B string at fret 10 (A). One note per string, so every voice is clear. Mute the low E and high e.
Keep the Am
Hold a normal Am and add one finger: the pinky, or the thumb over the neck, on the low E at fret 3. Nothing else moves.
Walk down from Am
Play Am – Am/G – F – E and listen to the bass: A, G, F, E. The chord on top stays A minor while the bass steps down under it.
It is an Am7
Am/G has the same notes as Am7. In a walk-down it sounds like A minor with a moving bass; held on its own it sounds like Am7 with an unusual bass.
The one-finger version
If the pinky reach is awkward, barre the top four strings at fret 5 with the index. G, C, E and A — the whole chord under one finger.
Watch the bass
In the open shape the low E must sound G, not E. If it is buzzing or muted, the bass falls back to the open A and you are playing plain Am.
About the Am/G Chord on Guitar
The Am/G chord — said "A minor over G" — is an A minor chord with G as its lowest note. G is not one of A minor's three notes: it is the minor 7th of A, so Am/G has four notes — A, C, E and G — the same as Am7, with the 7th in the bass. On guitar it is an open Am with one finger added on the low E at fret 3. Its job is the descending bassline: Am – Am/G – F walks the bass down A–G–F, and Am – Am/G – F – E adds one more step, while the top of the chord stays A minor. This page covers three voicings: the open shape, a one-finger shape at fret 5, and a four-note shape with G on the A string at fret 10. Every diagram is interactive and playable with acoustic guitar sound.
- 013 Am/G chord shapes from beginner to intermediate
- 02Interactive diagrams — click Play to hear each chord
- 03Acoustic guitar sound via audio engine
- 04Built from 4 notes: A, C, E and G, with G in the bass
- 05The same notes as Am7 — third inversion
- 06Open, one-finger, and four-note voicings
- 07Difficulty rating on every shape
- 08Free — no sign-up or download needed
ANATOMY
Chord Tones
The 4 notes that form the Am/G chord and their role in the major scale.
Am/G is an A minor triad over G, a note that is not in the triad — it is the minor 7th of A. So Am/G has the same four notes as Am7 (A, C, E and G), with the 7th in the bass: Am7 in third inversion.
Frequently Asked Questions
3-0-2-2-1-0 — open Am with the pinky (or thumb) on the low E at fret 3.
A minor over G: an A minor chord with G as the lowest note.
It has the same four notes. Am/G says the G is in the bass — usually because the bass is walking down from A.
In walk-downs from A minor — Am – Am/G – F – E is the classic line.