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 key is F-sharp minor and its parallel key 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:
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,
Anton 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 violin family, 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
-
La stravaganza, 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
-
Fanny Mendelssohn
-
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
-
Anton Bruckner
-
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
External links
