Ionian (Major)
This scale is also known by other names: Major, C Major.
2 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 2 - 2 - 1About Ionian (Major)
The A major scale has three sharps — F♯, C♯ and G♯ — and it is the second home of the guitar after E. The open A string gives the tonic, the open E gives the fifth, and the shapes of its chords are the ones the hand learns first.
The notes
A B C♯ D E F♯ G♯, then A. Three sharps sounds like a lot on paper; under the fingers it is not, because all three fall at the second fret or above on strings the hand is already covering.
Compared with D major, only one note differs: G becomes G♯. Neighbouring keys on the circle of fifths always differ by exactly one note, and this pair is the clearest place to hear what that means.
On the fretboard
Open position uses the A and E strings unfretted, with everything else close by. The characteristic two-fret block — three fingers side by side at the second fret — is the shape behind A, and it recurs throughout the key.
The chords are A, Bm, C♯m, D, E, F♯m. Three of the six take barres, but two of those, Bm and F♯m, are the standard barre shapes every player learns anyway.
Where it is used
Blues and rock in A are ubiquitous, largely because the open A string supports riffs the way the low E does in E. The A minor pentatonic at the fifth fret is probably the single most played scale shape on the instrument.
Its relative minor is F♯ minor, which shares the same three sharps. Songs that pair A with F♯m are staying in one key throughout, however different the two sections feel.
Related Scales from Diatonic
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