Appalachian Spring Chord (Amaj9): how to play it on guitar

Appalachian Spring Chord (Amaj9): guitar chord

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Amaj9 · Aaron Copland

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Amaj9

Appalachian Spring Chord Famous Standard

Fret 6 · 5 strings, 3 open

FamousAppalachian Spring ChordAppalachian Spring, 1944 · Aaron Copland

Two chords at once: E major over A major

The slow opening (introduction of the characters): an A major chord with an E major chord laid over it, sustained softly as the music unfolds

Appalachian Spring opens with a hushed, glowing chord that seems to sum up wide American open spaces. Copland made it by placing an E major chord on top of an A major chord, which together give the five notes of A major ninth. On guitar, x06600 gives all five notes with one easy grip; 542100 stacks them as Copland did, A major under E major, for those who can stretch.

Also called Copland chord, Copland's polychord

Sources: Polychords, in Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom (Robert Hutchinson, LibreTexts) · Stanley V. Kleppinger, 'Copland's Fifths and Their Structural Role in the Sonata for Violin and Piano', Music Theory Online 17/2 (2011) · Aaron Copland's American Vision (NPR, Rob Kapilow, 2009)

Chord clock

What’s in it

R A3 C♯5 E7 G♯9 B

About this shape

Lowest note: A2, the root
Highest note: E4, the 5th
Stretch: no stretch
Fingers: 2 fingers

Where it sits on the neck

Fingering not checked by a guitarist yet.

Appalachian Spring Chord (Amaj9): guitar chord

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Appalachian Spring Chord (Amaj9): guitar chord

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