The A major scale — notes, intervals, and pattern

The A major scale has three sharps — F#, C#, and G# — and is one of the most popular keys in pop, rock, and country. The open-string tuning of a guitar (E-A-D-G-B-E) sits perfectly inside A major, which is why so many singer-songwriter staples live here.

Interval pattern

The A major scale is built from this fixed pattern of whole steps (W) and half steps (H):

Wwhole
Wwhole
Hhalf
Wwhole
Wwhole
Wwhole
Hhalf

Every major scale uses this same pattern, transposed to start on a different tonic. The half-steps fall between scale degrees 3–4 and 7–8.

Scale degrees and intervals

Each note of the scale, with its scale-degree name and interval from the root:

Degree	Note	Interval from root	Function
1	A	Root	Tonic
2	B	M2	Supertonic
3	C#	M3	Mediant
4	D	P4	Subdominant
5	E	P5	Dominant
6	F#	M6	Submediant
7	G#	M7	Subtonic / Leading tone

In melody and improvisation

A major is built into the bones of guitar music. The 1-4-5 progression (A-D-E) is the foundation of countless rock and blues songs. On violin, A major is the second scale most students learn (after D), and Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor lives largely in A major's tonal orbit.

Relative key

The A major scale shares its notes with F# minor. Same seven pitches, different tonal centre — when a piece moves between them, no accidentals change.

Common mistakes

Three sharps means F#, C#, AND G#. The G# (leading tone) is the easiest to miss when sight-reading; it gives the V chord (E major) its pull back to A.

Drill it

The Interval Trainer gives you a root note and an interval, and asks you to name the result. Practising the intervals of the A major scale is the fastest way to internalise it as a melodic shape rather than a memorised string of notes.

Open the Interval Trainer →Or drill key signatures

Frequently asked

What are the notes in the A major scale?: A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#.
How many sharps does A major have?: Three: F#, C#, and G#.
What is the relative minor of A major?: F# minor.