Banjo · minor
Am Chord on Banjo
A Minor is A, C, E — the 1-b3-5 pattern of a minor chord. Here is the shape, the audio, and what usually goes wrong.
There is no open Am on banjo. The one shape below sits up the neck and is rated intermediate.
Start here — Standard Am
Fingered low on the neck with no barre — a useful middle step between the open shape and the movable ones.
What beginners get wrong
Moving in and out of it
Songs that turn on this chord
- Stairway to HeavenLed Zeppelinintro — opening chord
- House of the Rising SunThe Animalsverse — opening
- HallelujahLeonard Cohenverse
- WonderwallOasischorus — third chord
- Goodness of GodBethel Musicbridge — opening chord
Am on other instruments
Same notes, different hands. Every link below is a real page with diagrams and audio.
Chords next door
Same root, different colour — and all of them playable on banjo.
Am on Banjo — questions people ask
What is the easiest way to play Am on banjo?
“Standard Am” — which we rate intermediate — is the easiest Am shape on banjo. Fingered low on the neck with no barre — a useful middle step between the open shape and the movable ones. There is no open Am on banjo, so a barre is unavoidable; this is the least demanding one.
What notes are in the A Minor chord?
A Minor is A, C, E — the 1-b3-5 interval pattern of a minor chord. Every voicing on this page uses those notes and nothing else; they just appear in a different order and octave.
What can I play instead of Am?
The nearest stand-ins on banjo that keep the same root are A5, Asus4, Asus2. They keep the root and the fifth and only change what sits in the middle, so most songs still work — but check the swap against the melody, because the note you removed may be the one the tune is singing.
Can I play Am on other instruments?
Yes. Am is the same set of notes everywhere; only the fingering changes. This site has diagrams and audio for it on guitar, piano, ukulele, bass, mandolin.
Learn the theory behind Am
The shape gets your fingers there. These explain why it sounds the way it does.
Major and Minor Scales — Built from Intervals, Felt in Songs
The flat third is the whole difference between this chord and its major twin.
5 min read
Key Signatures: Read Any Key in Two Seconds
Which keys this chord belongs to, and how to read the sharps and flats.
6 min read
Chord Progressions Explained
Minor chords rarely travel alone. Here is the company they keep.
7 min read