Major
A Major Scale on Piano
A major has three sharps — F#, C#, and G# — and is often described as confident and lyrical. It is a favorite for string players (the open A string rings along with the tonic) and shows up in plenty of pop, rock, and Romantic piano repertoire.
Notes of the A Major Scale
| Degree | Note | Interval from root |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | Root |
| 2 | B | Major 2nd |
| 3 | C# | Major 3rd |
| 4 | D | Perfect 4th |
| 5 | E | Perfect 5th |
| 6 | F# | Major 6th |
| 7 | G# | Major 7th |
| 8 | A | Octave |
W-W-H-W-W-W-HW · W · H · W · W · W · HThree sharps are the minimum needed to preserve the major pattern starting from A.
W = whole step, H = half step.
A Major on the Staff
One octave ascending in treble clef with the key signature of A major (3 sharps: F#, C#, G#).
Fingering
- 1A
- 2B
- 3C#
- 1D
- 2E
- 3F#
- 4G#
- 5A
- 5A
- 4B
- 3C#
- 2D
- 1E
- 3F#
- 2G#
- 1A
Numbers indicate fingers: 1 = thumb, 2 = index, 3 = middle, 4 = ring, 5 = little. Both rows are shown in ascending order (low note to high note). Note the left hand starts on the pinky (5) at the lowest note and crosses the middle finger over the thumb to continue upward — that is why the left-hand numbers count down before cycling again.
Diatonic Chords in A Major
The seven triads built on each scale degree. They use only the notes of this scale; real pieces often add chords with altered notes as well.
Where You Hear This Scale
In the right hand, the thumb tucks under after C# (finger 3) onto D, and G# falls under finger 4 near the top. Mozart's Piano Sonata K. 331 opens with a theme and variations in A major.
Train Your Ear to Recognize This Scale
Put what you learned into practice with Fortepian's free scale identification exercise. Hear a scale and identify it — 9 progressive levels, from major and minor to modes, pentatonic, blues, and exotic scales. No signup needed.
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