# A major

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:
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:
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:
* Tonic – A major
* Supertonic – B minor
* Mediant – C-sharp minor
* Subdominant – D major
* Dominant – E major
* Submediant – F-sharp minor
* Leading-tone – G-sharp diminished

## 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

* Antonio Vivaldi
** Trio Sonata, Op. 1/9 RV 75
** Violin Sonata, Op. 2/2 RV 31
** concerto for two violins, Op. 3/5 RV 519
** concerto for violin, Op. 4/5 RV 347
** Violin Sonata, Op. 5/2 RV 30
** concerto for violin, Op. 9/2 RV 345
** concerto for violin, Op. 9/6 RV 348
** concerto for violin, Op. 11/3 RV 336
* Georg Philipp Telemann
** Fantasia for flute solo, No. 1
** Fantasia for violin solo, No. 5
** Fantasia for viola da gamba solo, No. 8
** Sonata for two flutes or two violins, No. 3
* Johann Sebastian Bach
** English Suite No. 1, BWV 806
* Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
** Violin Concerto No. 5, K. 219
** Symphony No. 29, K. 201
** Symphony No. 21, K. 134
** Violin Sonata No. 22, K. 305
** Piano Sonata No. 11, K. 331
** String Quartet No. 18, K. 464
** Piano Concerto No. 23, K. 488
** Là ci darem la mano, duettino form Don Giovanni, K. 527
** Clarinet Quintet, K. 581
** Clarinet Concerto, K. 622
* Ludwig van Beethoven
** Symphony No. 7, Op. 92
** Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 2/2
** Piano Sonata No. 28, Op. 101
** Violin Sonata No. 6, Op. 30/1
** Violin Sonata No. 9, Op. 47
** Cello Sonata No. 3, Op. 69
** String Quartet No. 5, Op. 18/5
* Franz Schubert
** Trout Quintet
** Piano Sonata, D 664
** Piano Sonata No. 20, D. 959
* Fanny Mendelssohn
** Easter Sonata
* Felix Mendelssohn
** Symphony No. 4, Op. 90 ("Italian")
** Organ Sonata, Op. 65, No. 3
* Frédéric Chopin
** Polonaise, Op. 40/1 ("Military")
** Prelude, Op. 28/7
* Franz Liszt
** Piano Concerto No. 2, S.125
* Johannes Brahms
** Serenade No. 2, Op. 16
** Violin Sonata No. 2, Op. 100 ("Thun")
** Piano Quartet No. 2, Op. 26
* César Franck
** Violin Sonata
* Anton Bruckner
** Symphony No. 6
* Émile Waldteufel
** Les Patineurs waltz, Op. 183
* Sergei Prokofiev
** Piano Sonata No. 6, Op. 82
* Dmitri Shostakovich
** String Quartet No. 2, Op. 68
** Symphony No. 15, Op. 141