How to play A minor major 11 chord on guitar
Shape 556557
Shape characteristics
Partial barre
One finger presses two strings at the same fret. A lighter, less tiring grip than a full barre while still being fully movable.
Mid-neck · fret 5-7
Balanced tone, with neither the ringing openness of first position nor the bright snap of the upper register. Common choice for rhythm work when you want a fuller, more compact sound.
Full six-string voicing
All six strings ring, giving you the biggest, most resonant version of this chord, ideal for strumming and solo acoustic contexts.
Bass: A · Top: B
The root is in the bass, so the chord sounds grounded and stable. This is the natural starting voicing for most progressions.
Shape 556500 is the closest alternative voicing. Try both to see which fits better.
How to play this shape
- 1 Place the 1st finger on the 5th fret of the 2nd string, 3rd string, 5th string, and 6th string in barre position
- 2 Place the 2nd finger on the 6th fret of the 4th string
- 3 Place the 3rd finger on the 7th fret of the 1st string
Frequently Asked Questions
What does "556557" mean?
The sequence 556557 is a highly compact guitar chord notation. It represents the fret played on each of the 6 strings, reading left-to-right from the thickest (lowest pitch) string to the thinnest (highest pitch) string: E, A, D, G, B, e.
- x means the string is muted or skipped entirely.
- 0 means the string is played "open" (without pressing over a fret).
- 1-9 represent standard fret numbers 1 to 9.
- a, b, c... represent frets 10, 11, 12, and higher (where a=10, b=11, c=12).
Can I play this A minor major 11 shape anywhere else?
Yes! This specific layout is just one way to voice a A minor major 11 chord. You can find all other variations in our chord shape library for A minor major 11. Most guitarists choose different shapes based on whether they want a "brighter" or "deeper" sound, or which chord they are transitioning from.
Other shapes
Showing 6 of 6 playable shapes