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."Peter Cropper, "Beethoven's Violin Sonata in A major, Op.47 'Kreutzer': First Movement", The Strad, March 2009, p. 64
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."Rita Steblin (1996) A History of Key Characteristics in the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries, University of Rochester Press, p. 123, .
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.Norman Del Mar (1981). Anatomy of the Orchestra, University of California Press, p. 349, .
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 Hensel 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
See also Major and minor Chord (music) Chord notation
References
External links