A major: scale and chords

The A major scale

A B C♯ D E F♯ G♯

Key signature: three sharps, written F♯ C♯ G♯, so three black keys on a piano and four white. Whole and half steps: W W H W W W H, the pattern of every major scale; here the half steps fall between C♯ and D and between G♯ and A. Also called A Ionian.

The chord on the fifth degree, E7, pulls back to A.

In Hz, from the keynote in octave 4: A4 440.0 · B4 493.9 · C♯5 554.4 · D5 587.3 · E5 659.3 · F♯5 740.0 · G♯5 830.6

Play the scale

A major scale on piano

Right hand 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5: thumb on A, then under to D. Left hand 5 4 3 2 1 3 2 1: little finger on A, the third finger crosses over the thumb to F♯. It's the fingering of C, G, D and E major too, so nothing new to learn.

A major scale on guitar

In open position: A string 0 2 4, D string 0 2 4, G string 1 2. At the 5th fret, from the A on the low E string: low E 5 7, A 4 5 7, D 4 6 7. That second shape has no open strings, so it moves: start it on any fret of the low E string and it plays that note's major scale.

A major scale on ukulele

In open position (G C E A): C string 1 2 (C♯ D), E string 0 2 4 (E F♯ G♯), A string 0 2 4 (A B C♯). The open A string is the keynote. On a low-G ukulele, start on the G string at 2 4 (A B) and the run plays the whole scale from A to A.

A major scale on guitar · A major pentatonic scale · A major scale on piano

The A major chord (A) on guitar and piano

A C♯ E

A is A, C♯ and E: the keynote, the major third above it and the fifth. It's the chord a song in A major comes home to, the I in the table below.

Guitar: x 0 2 2 2 0 (low E to high E, x = not played). D, G and B at the 2nd fret, the A and high E strings open, low E silent. Fingers: index on D, middle on G, ring on B, all in one fret; if they don't fit side by side, lay one finger flat across the three.

Ukulele: 2 1 0 0 (G C E A): A, C♯, E and A.

Piano: A (white), C♯ (black) and E (white). From the root, 4 semitones up to the third, 3 more to the fifth. Right hand 1 3 5, left hand 5 3 1; inverted, C♯ E A and E A C♯ are the same chord. Lower the C♯ to C and it becomes A minor.

Play A

The chords in A major

Tap a chord to hear it.

The loop plays I–V–vi–IV: A E F♯m D.

A major chord progressions

On guitar, low E to high E: A x02220 · Bm x24432 · C♯m x46654 · D xx0232 · E 022100 (E7 020100) · F♯m 244222 · G♯° 4x643x.

• I–V–vi–IV A E F♯m D: the four-chord pop loop, the one playing above.
• I–IV–V A D E: blues, rock and roll and most campfire songs, on three of the easiest open guitar chords.
• I–vi–IV–V A F♯m D E: the 1950s doo-wop turn.
• I–vi–ii–V A F♯m Bm E: the turnaround that loops back to the top.
• vi–IV–I–V F♯m D A E: the same four chords as the pop loop, started on the minor one, so it leans sad.
• ii–V–I Bm7 E7 Amaj7: the jazz cadence.

Keys that mix with A major

On the Camelot wheel A major is 11B (Open Key 4d). Tracks in these keys mix without a clash:

• 11A F♯ minor relative minor, the same seven notes
• 10B D major one step down
• 12B E major one step up
• 1B B major two steps up, the energy boost

F♯ minor, the relative minor, has the same seven notes and the same three sharps; only the home note changes. A minor (8A), the parallel minor, keeps A as home and has no sharps at all: C♯, F♯ and G♯ drop to C, F and G.

Songs and pieces in A major

Classical: Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, Mozart's Clarinet Concerto (K. 622) and Clarinet Quintet (K. 581), his Piano Sonata K. 331, which ends with the Turkish march, Schubert's "Trout" Quintet and Mendelssohn's "Italian" Symphony. Pop: Adele's "Someone Like You" and Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven". The key suits a guitar: five of its six open strings are in A major, all but G.

Questions about A major

Is A major the same as A sharp major?

No. A♯ is a semitone higher, and A♯ major would need ten sharps, three of them double. It's written as B♭ major, two flats.

A major or A-flat major?

A♭ major is a semitone lower, with four flats (B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭). The two scales share only two sounding notes, C♯ (D♭) and G♯ (A♭). Typed without the symbol, A♭ is Ab: the black key between G and A, the same key as G♯.

How do I turn A major into A minor?

For the chord, lower the third: C♯ to C, on guitar x 0 2 2 1 0. For the key, lower the third, sixth and seventh: A B C D E F G, all white keys.

What are the primary chords in A major?

I, IV and V: A, D and E. With F♯m added they cover most songs in the key.

What plays

Drums, an organ bass and a pluck, the Brumm app's own sounds, four bars at 123 BPM, one chord per bar. The arrows move bass and chords a semitone; the drums stay.

Where A major sits

Choir parts (soprano C4–G5, alto G3–D5, tenor C3–G4, bass F2–D4, where two part-writing guides agree): A3–A4 fits the alto part; A2–A3 fits the bass part; no whole A-to-A octave fits the soprano or tenor parts. Find your own range.

As a sub or an 808, the keynote is A1 at exactly 55 Hz, an eighth of 440, or A2 at 110 Hz an octave up. Tune an 808 to A.

Then hum over it

The hum button opens Brumm with a short line in the key over a beat. Hum yours and it becomes an instrument. No account, no upload.

Sources

Scales and chords: Open Music Theory, musictheory.net. Camelot, Open Key: Mixed In Key, Mixgraph. Open strings: Wikipedia. Choir parts: Open Music Theory, Geneseo. Guitar shapes: Wikipedia, Barre chord. Hz: A4 = 440 Hz, ISO 16.

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