ChordWheel › Keys › A major
Chords in the key of A major
A major has 3 sharps (F♯ C♯ G♯). Its seven chords are A, Bm, C♯m, D, E, F♯m, G♯° . Its relative minor is F♯ minor , which uses the same chords with F♯m as home.
C major A minor C Am G major E minor G Em D major B minor D Bm IV ii A major F♯ minor A F♯m I vi E major C♯ minor E C♯m V iii B major G♯ minor B G♯m F♯ major D♯ minor F♯ D♯m D♭ major B♭ minor D♭ B♭m A♭ major F minor A♭ Fm E♭ major C minor E♭ Cm B♭ major G minor B♭ Gm F major D minor F Dm A 4 2 1 6 5 3 On the wheel, IV, I and V sit side by side on the outer ring with ii, vi and iii right below them. Tap any key on the wheel to go to its page.
Open A major in the interactive wheel
The seven chords
Number Chord 7th chord I A Amaj7 ii Bm Bm7 iii C♯m C♯m7 IV D Dmaj7 V E E7 vi F♯m F♯m7 vii° G♯° G♯m7♭5
I
× open
5fr root on 6th string
A · C♯ · E ii
7fr root on 6th string
× root on 5th string
B · D · F♯ iii
9fr root on 6th string
4fr × root on 5th string
C♯ · E · G♯ IV
× × open
10fr root on 6th string
D · F♯ · A V
open
7fr × root on 5th string
E · G♯ · B vi
root on 6th string
9fr × root on 5th string
F♯ · A · C♯ 7th chords
G♯m7♭5 viiø7
G♯ · B · D · F♯
Common progressions in A major
A E F♯m D I V vi IV The pop engine (Let It Be, Someone Like You) A F♯m D E I vi IV V 50s / doo-wop (Stand By Me) F♯m D A E vi IV I V The same four from the minor side (Zombie, Africa-style) A D E I IV V Three-chord rock, blues and country Bm E A ii V I The jazz cadence A G D A I ♭VII IV I Rock's borrowed cadence (Hey Jude coda, Sweet Child O' Mine) A D Dm A I IV iv I The bittersweet ending (Creep)
Borrowed from the minor Chords from A minor dropped into A major. Rock lives on ♭VII; IV then iv then I is the bittersweet move (Creep).
Secondary dominants A 7th chord that leads into another chord of the key as if it were home for a moment. Its root is one step clockwise of its target on the wheel.
G♯7 V7/iii
G♯ · B♯ · D♯ · F♯ Colour chords The same slot on the wheel with a different flavour. Sus chords swap the 3rd for the 2nd or 4th and like to resolve back to the plain chord (Asus4 → A). add9 adds the 2nd on top of the full chord. These are the common ones whose notes all stay in the key (here: Asus2, Asus4, Aadd9); the small label is the slot they sit in.
The A major scale
A major: A B C♯ D E F♯ G♯ . The key's seven chords are built from these notes; the borrowed and secondary chords above bring in notes from outside it.
Related keys
D major : one step counterclockwise; G♯ becomes G. A smooth key change.E major : one step clockwise; D becomes D♯. A smooth key change.F♯ minor : the relative minor, same notes.A minor : the parallel minor, same home note, where the borrowed chords come from.
Questions What chords are in the key of A major? The seven chords in A major are A, Bm, C#m, D, E, F#m, G#°. As 7th chords: Amaj7, Bm7, C#m7, Dmaj7, E7, F#m7, G#m7b5.
How many sharps or flats does A major have? A major has 3 sharps (F# C# G#).
What is the relative minor of A major? F# minor. It uses exactly the same notes and chords; only the home chord changes.
What are common chord progressions in A major? I V vi IV: A E F#m D; I vi IV V: A F#m D E; vi IV I V: F#m D A E.