A major

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Major key and scale based on the note A

title: "A major" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["musical-keys", "major-scales", "compositions-in-a-major"] description: "Major key and scale based on the note A" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_major" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Major key and scale based on the note A ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox musical scale"]

FieldValue
nameA major
{ \magnifyStaff #3/2 \omit Score.TimeSignature \key a \major s16 \clef F \key a \major s^"" }
relativeF-sharp minor
parallelA minor
dominantE major
subdominantD major
first_pitchA
second_pitchB
third_pitchC
fourth_pitchD
fifth_pitchE
sixth_pitchF
seventh_pitchG
::

| name=A major { \magnifyStaff #3/2 \omit Score.TimeSignature \key a \major s16 \clef F \key a \major s^"" } | relative=F-sharp minor | parallel=A minor | dominant=E major | subdominant=D major | first_pitch=A | second_pitch=B | third_pitch=C | fourth_pitch=D | fifth_pitch=E | sixth_pitch=F | seventh_pitch=G A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor.

The A major scale is:

\header { tagline = ##f } scale = \relative a { \key a \major \omit Score.TimeSignature a'^"A natural major scale" b cis d e fis gis a gis fis e d cis b a2 \clef F \key a \major } \score { { } \layout { } \midi { } }

Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The A harmonic major and melodic major scales are:

\header { tagline = ##f } scale = \relative a { \key a \major \omit Score.TimeSignature a'^"A harmonic major scale" b cis d e f gis a gis f! e d cis b a2 \clef F \key a \major } \score { { } \layout { } \midi { } } \header { tagline = ##f } scale = \relative a { \key a \major \omit Score.TimeSignature a'^"A melodic major scale" b cis d e fis gis a g f e d cis b a2 \clef F \key a \major } \score { { } \layout { } \midi { } }

In the treble, alto, and bass clefs, the G in the key signature is placed higher than C. However, in the tenor clef, it would require a ledger line and so G is placed lower than C.

Scale degree chords

The scale degree chords of A major are:

History

Although not as rare in the symphonic literature as sharper keys (those containing more than three sharps), symphonies in A major are less common than in keys with fewer sharps such as D major or G major. Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, Bruckner's Symphony No. 6 and Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 comprise a nearly complete list of symphonies in this key in the Romantic era. Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and Clarinet Quintet are both in A major, along with his 23rd Piano Concerto, and generally Mozart was more likely to use clarinets in A major than in any other key besides E-flat major. Moreover, the climax part of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto is also in A major.

The key of A occurs frequently in chamber music and other music for strings, which favor sharp keys. Franz Schubert's Trout Quintet and Antonín Dvořák's Piano Quintet No. 2 are both in A major. Johannes Brahms, César Franck, and Gabriel Fauré wrote violin sonatas in A major. In connection to Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata, Peter Cropper said that A major "is the fullest sounding key for the violin."

According to Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart, A major is a key suitable for "declarations of innocent love, ... hope of seeing one's beloved again when parting; youthful cheerfulness and trust in God."

For orchestral works in A major, the timpani are typically set to A and E a fifth apart, rather than a fourth apart as for most other keys. Hector Berlioz complained about the custom of his day in which timpani tuned to A and E a fifth apart were notated C and G a fourth apart, a custom which survived as late as the music of Franz Berwald.

Notable compositions in A major

References

References

  1. Mark Anson-Cartwright. (2000). "Chromatic Features of E{{music". [[Music Theory Spectrum]].
  2. Peter Cropper, "Beethoven's Violin Sonata in A major, Op.47 'Kreutzer': First Movement", ''[[The Strad]]'', March 2009, p. 64
  3. [[Rita Steblin]] (1996) ''A History of Key Characteristics in the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries'', University of Rochester Press, p. 123, {{ISBN. 0835714187.
  4. [[Norman Del Mar]] (1981). ''Anatomy of the Orchestra'', University of California Press, p. 349, {{ISBN. 0520045009.

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