The key of A major on mandolin
A B C♯ D E F♯ G♯ — and everything inside it.
The key of A major on mandolin: the scale, the chord on every degree, the seventh chords and the pentatonics — drawn above, each a tap away. The row of chips over the mandolin is the key’s chords; the dropdown switches it to seventh chords or pentatonics, the shape menu draws a chord as one grip at a time, and a tap on any note finds the chords that hold it. For the why, read chords in a key.
The notes of A major
A major is A B C♯ D E F♯ G♯: the major scale on A, seven notes, labeled 1 to 7 on the mandolin above. The scale on its own, in every position, is on its page.
The chords in A major
The triad on each degree, stacked from the key’s own notes; the numeral’s case is the chord’s quality. The explorer above draws the six you can rest on.
| Degree | Chord | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I | A | A C♯ E |
| ii | Bm | B D F♯ |
| iii | C♯m | C♯ E G♯ |
| IV | D | D F♯ A |
| V | E | E G♯ B |
| vi | F♯m | F♯ A C♯ |
| vii° | G♯° — passed through, not rested on | G♯ B D |
The seventh chords in A major
One more third on each — the row on “Tetrads” above.
| Degree | Chord | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Imaj7 | Amaj7 | A C♯ E G♯ |
| ii7 | Bm7 | B D F♯ A |
| iii7 | C♯m7 | C♯ E G♯ B |
| IVmaj7 | Dmaj7 | D F♯ A C♯ |
| V7 | E7 | E G♯ B D |
| vi7 | F♯m7 | F♯ A C♯ E |
| viiø7 | G♯m7♭5 — passed through, not rested on | G♯ B D F♯ |
The pentatonics in A major
The five-note scale on each degree that fits inside the key — major where the degree’s chord is major, minor where it is minor. The row on “Pentatonics” above.
| Degree | Scale | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| I | A pent | A B C♯ E F♯ |
| ii | Bm pent | B D E F♯ A |
| iii | C♯m pent | C♯ E F♯ G♯ B |
| IV | D pent | D E F♯ A B |
| V | E pent | E F♯ G♯ B C♯ |
| vi | F♯m pent | F♯ A B C♯ E |
| vii | G♯m pent — not in the key | G♯ B C♯ E♭ F♯ |
The same notes from another home
Relative minor: F♯ minor; Its dorian mode: B dorian; Its phrygian mode: D♭ phrygian; Its lydian mode: D lydian; Its mixolydian mode: E mixolydian. Parallel minor, the same root with different notes: A minor.