A major

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A major
Image:A_Major_key_signature.png
Relative key F♯ minor
Parallel key A minor
Component pitches
A, B, C♯, D, E, F♯, G♯, A

A major is a major scale based on A, consisting of the pitches A, B, C♯, D, E, F♯, G♯, and A. Its key signature consists of three sharps.

Ascending and descending A Major Scale

Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. A major is the only key in which a Neapolitan sixth chord on \hat2 requires both a flat and a natural accidental.

Although not as rare in the symphonic literature as sharper keys, examples of symphonies in A major are not as numerous as for 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.

In chamber music, A major occurs more often. Both Brahms and Franck wrote violin sonatas in A major.

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.

[edit] Well-known songs in this key

[edit] Reference

  • Colin Lawson, Mozart: Clarinet Concerto, A Cambridge Music Handbook, Cambridge University Press, 1996
Diatonic Scales and Keys
Circle of fifths
Flats Sharps
Major minor Major minor
0 C (Major), a (minor)
1 F d G e
2 B♭ g D b
3 E♭ c A f♯
4 A♭ f E c♯
5 D♭ b♭ B g♯
6 G♭ e♭ F♯ d♯
7 C♭ a♭ C♯ a♯
lower case letters are minor

the table indicates the number of sharps or flats in each scale

[edit] External links

 Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
  • A Major - Free A Major Scale Print Out with Arpeggios and Broken Chords for Piano with Fingering
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../a/_/m/A_major.html"