A major

What it means

A major is the major key built on the root A, with the scale A–B–C♯–D–E–F♯–G♯–A. It belongs to the sharp keys and sits three steps to the sharp side of C major on the circle of fifths.

Its relative minor, the minor key sharing the same key signature, is F-sharp minor. Both keys share the same three sharps and the same pitch collection, but differ in tonic and overall character.

In the notation

A major is notated with three sharps: F♯, C♯, and G♯. These three raised notes appear at the start of every line right after the clef and apply to every F, C, and G throughout the piece, unless cancelled by a natural sign or another alteration.

Musical use

A major is traditionally regarded as a bright, often festive and radiant key. It is popular with string instruments such as the violin and guitar, since several of their open strings (A, E) ring in exactly this key, producing a particularly resonant sound.

In Classical and Romantic music, A major frequently appears in works of a cheerful, dance-like, or lyrical character. Well-known examples include Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, whose central key is A major, and numerous chamber works for strings.

Performance practice

Practice the A major scale slowly over two octaves, paying particular attention to the three raised notes F♯, C♯, and G♯, since they are easily confused with their unaltered neighboring notes. On string instruments you benefit from matching open strings, but for that very reason you should control the intonation of the stopped notes especially carefully, so they blend cleanly with the open strings.