Skip to content

A major

A major has 3 sharps (F♯, C♯ and G♯). Its scale is A B C♯ D E F♯ G♯, its chords are A, Bm, C♯m, D, E, F♯m and G♯dim, and its relative minor is F♯ minor.

Make a beat in A majorWrite a melody in this key

Opens the free editor with a pop beat on A E F♯m D. No account needed to start.

The A major scale

Whole, whole, half, whole, whole, whole, half: the half steps come between C♯ and D, and between G♯ and A.

A B C♯ D E F♯ G♯ A

ABDEAC♯F♯G♯

On the piano, A major uses 3 black keys (C♯, F♯ and G♯) and 4 white keys (A, B, D and E).

The notes of A major by scale degree
DegreeNoteName
1ATonic
2BSupertonic
3C♯Mediant
4DSubdominant
5EDominant
6F♯Submediant
7G♯Leading tone

Chords in A major

One chord on each note of the scale, built from the scale’s own notes. The Roman numeral says which note it starts on: capitals are major, small letters minor.

IA
iiBm
iiiC♯m
IVD
VE
viF♯m
vii°G♯dim

Which chords sound happy or sad

Bright

A D E

I, IV, V. The major chords. A feels like home; E pulls back to it.

Softer, sadder

Bm C♯m F♯m

ii, iii, vi. The minor chords. F♯m is the sad turn in many pop songs.

Tense

G♯dim

vii°. Diminished: tense and unstable, it wants to move on, usually to A.

A progression in A major

The pop progression · I–V–vi–IV
A
E
F♯m
D
Hear it as

More progressions in A major

Key signature and related keys

Key signature

3 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯

Written at the start of every line of music, so each F, C and G is played sharp. Sharps join in the order F C G D A E B, and flats in the order B E A D G C F.

Relative minor

F♯ minor

The same seven notes and key signature, starting on F♯.

Parallel minor

A minor

The same home note, with no sharps or flats. Borrowing a chord from it makes a part sound darker.

Next to it on the circle of fifths

Keys next to each other share six of their seven notes. See them all on the circle of fifths.

A major in beats

The editor’s starter beat for this style is written in A major. It opens the free editor with its own drums, bass and chords at its usual tempo, no account needed.

Blues · 60 BPM

Questions about A major

How many sharps are in A major?

Three: F♯, C♯ and G♯. Those notes are played sharp every time, so the key signature has 3 sharps, and F♯ minor, its relative minor, has the same.

What is the relative minor of A major?

F♯ minor. It uses the same seven notes and the same key signature as A major, but starts on F♯, the sixth note of the scale. The two share every chord, which is why songs move between them so easily.

What chords are in A major?

A, Bm, C♯m, D, E, F♯m and G♯dim: one built on each note of the scale (I, ii, iii, IV, V, vi, vii°). A, D and E are the three major chords most songs in A major lean on, and F♯m (vi) gives a sadder turn.

What is the most common chord progression in A major?

I–V–vi–IV: A, E, F♯m and D. It is behind hundreds of hit songs, and it is the one the beat on this page plays.

Every key

Major keys
C majorG majorD majorA majorE majorB majorF♯ majorD♭ majorA♭ majorE♭ majorB♭ majorF major
Minor keys
A minorE minorB minorF♯ minorC♯ minorG♯ minorD♯ minorB♭ minorF minorC minorG minorD minor

Build a song in A major

Start with the beat, then add chords, a melody and your voice in the editor, part by part.

Make a beat in A majorAll music keys

Keep going