A major scale

The A major scale is A B C♯ D E F♯ G♯ A. The key of A major has three sharps: F♯, C♯ and G♯. Its relative minor is F♯ minor, which uses the same key signature.

A B C♯ D E F♯ G♯ A

Key signature3 sharps
Relative minorF♯ minor
Parallel minorA minor
StepsW W H W W W H

A major scale on the staff

Here is one octave of the A major scale going up, written with the key signature (three sharps: F♯, C♯ and G♯). Every note on those lines and spaces is played sharp or flat, so the notes themselves need no extra signs.

A major scale, up and back down.

The same scale written with accidentals instead of a key signature.

On the bass staff, two octaves lower.

A major scale on the piano

The keys of the A major scale. The pattern of whole (W) and half (H) steps is W W H W W W H.

Scale degrees

Degree	Note	Name	Solfege
1	A	tonic	do
2	B	supertonic	re
3	C♯	mediant	mi
4	D	subdominant	fa
5	E	dominant	sol
6	F♯	submediant	la
7	G♯	leading tone	ti

A major key signature

The key signature sits right after the clef at the start of every line. A major has three sharps: F♯, C♯ and G♯. They are written in the standard order, which is the same in every key with sharps.

Treble clef

Bass clef

Chords in the key of A major

Build a chord on each note of the scale using only notes from the scale and you get the chords of the key. The Roman numeral says which scale degree the chord sits on; capitals are major chords, lowercase are minor, and ° means diminished.

The seven chords of A major: A, Bm, C♯m, D, E, F♯m, G♯dim.

Numeral	Chord	Notes	Seventh chord
I	A	A C♯ E	Amaj7 (Imaj7)
ii	Bm	B D F♯	Bm7 (ii7)
iii	C♯m	C♯ E G♯	C♯m7 (iii7)
IV	D	D F♯ A	Dmaj7 (IVmaj7)
V	E	E G♯ B	E7 (V7)
vi	F♯m	F♯ A C♯	F♯m7 (vi7)
vii°	G♯dim	G♯ B D	G♯m7♭5 (viiø7)

About the key of A major

A major has three sharps: F♯, C♯ and G♯. It is a friendly key on guitar and violin, where open strings and common chord shapes fit it well. It is also a favorite of clarinetists, since orchestras often use the clarinet in A for music in sharp keys. Its relative minor is F♯ minor.

Well-known music in A major:

Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622 (Mozart)
Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92 (Beethoven)
Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 90, Italian (Mendelssohn)

Check yourself

1. How many sharps are in the key of A major?

2. What is the 5th note (the dominant) of A major?

3. What is the relative minor of A major?