A major

A major (or the key of A) 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 key of A major is the only key where the Neapolitan sixth chord on  (''i.e.'' the flattened supertonic) requires both a flat and a natural accidental.

The A major scale is:

:

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.

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. Norman Del Mar (1981). ''Anatomy of the Orchestra'', University of California Press, p. 349, .

Notable compositions in A major

* Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
** Violin Concerto No. 5, K. 219
** Symphony No. 29, K. 201
** Violin Sonata No. 22, K. 305
** Piano Sonata No. 11, K. 331
** String Quartet No. 18, K. 464
** Piano Concerto No. 23, K. 488
** 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
* Felix Mendelssohn
** Symphony No. 4, Op. 90 ("Italian")
* 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 names and symbols (popular music)

References

External links

*

{{Circle of fifths

Musical keys
Major scales