Chords in the Key of A Major
Every diatonic triad and seventh chord in A major, with the progressions built from them. Free. No sign-up.
Key facts
Diatonic triads
Seventh chords
Stack one more scale tone on each triad and you get the seventh chords — same key, more color.
Common progressions in A major
I–V–vi–IV
A – E – F#m – D
The four-chord pop loop — a huge share of modern radio runs on it.
I–IV–V
A – D – E
The three-chord workhorse behind blues, folk, and early rock and roll.
ii–V–I
Bm – E – A
The jazz cadence — the strongest pull back home in the key.
I–vi–IV–V
A – F#m – D – E
The '50s doo-wop turnaround, still everywhere in ballads.
How the key of A major works
A Major carries three sharps (F#, C# and G#). The scale runs A–B–C#–D–E–F#–G#, and stacking every other note of that scale builds the seven chords above — every chord tone comes from those same seven notes.
F# Minor is the relative minor: identical key signature, identical seven chords. A song that treats F#m — the vi chord here — as home base is in F# minor, even though its chord inventory matches this page exactly.
The parallel minor, A Minor, keeps the same root but flattens the third, sixth, and seventh — its signature shifts to no sharps or flats. Borrowing chords across that line is where a lot of songwriting color comes from.
Playing A major on guitar
In A major, A, D and E are open chords you can play in first position. Bm, C#m and F#m need a barre shape or a capo. The diminished G#dim is usually played as a small three-string shape rather than a full chord.
A capo is the shortcut. With one, the I–V–vi–IV progression (A – E – F#m – D) sounds in A major while you finger open shapes:
Capo 2 · play it as G major
G – D – Em – C
4 of 4 shapes are open chords.
Capo 7 · play it as D major
D – A – Bm – G
3 of 4 shapes are open chords.
Capo 9 · play it as C major
C – G – Am – F
3 of 4 shapes are open chords.
Where A major sits on the neck
The root, A, is fret 5 on the low E string and the open A string, the two places most major barre shapes and scale positions in A major are built from.
Five open strings are in the key: low E, A, D, B and high E. Watch the open G (fret 1 gives G#).
The open low E (the fifth), A (the root) and high E (the fifth) strings make a drone you can let ring under riffs and melodies in this key.
One note separates A major from each neighbour on the circle of fifths. Raise D to D# and you are in E major; lower G# to G and you are in D major. Those are the two keys a song in A major most often modulates to.
Songs in A major
From the song library, these recordings sound in A major:
- Tears in Heaven, Eric Clapton
- Three Little Birds, Bob Marley & The Wailers
- Stand By Me, Ben E King
- Chasing Cars, Snow Patrol
Keep practicing
Knowing the chords in A major is the map; the coach watches you play them and tells you what to fix. Start coaching →