Chord progressions in A major

Which chords belong together in A major, and what is built from them: the seven diatonic chords and 13 common progressions, each written out.

The chords of A major

Almost every song in this key is built from these seven. The roman numeral says which degree of the scale the chord stands on — upper case for major, lower case for minor.

Degree	Chord	Type
I	A	major
ii	Bm	minor
iii	C#m	minor
IV	D	major
V	E	major
vi	F#m	minor
vii°	G#dim	diminished

13 progressions in A major

I–V–vi–IVA – E – F#m – DThe four chords vi–IV–I–VF#m – D – A – EThe same four, starting minor I–vi–IV–VA – F#m – D – EThe fifties progression ii–V–IBm7 – E7 – Amaj7The jazz cadence I–IV–VA – D – EThe three primary chords I–I–I–I–IV–IV–I–I–V–IV–I–VA7 – D7 – A7 – E7 – D7 – A7 – E7The twelve-bar blues I–V–vi–iii–IV–I–IV–VA – E – F#m – C#m – D – A – D – EThe Pachelbel canon I–vi–ii–VAmaj7 – F#m7 – Bm7 – E7The turnaround I–♭VII–IVA – G – DThe Mixolydian turn I–iii–IV–VA – C#m – D – EThe rising progression I–IV–I–VA – D – A – EThe alternating progression vi–V–IV–VF#m – E – D – EThe lamenting progression I–V–IV–VA – E – D – EThe rock loop

Neighbouring keys

E majorD majorF# minor

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Every note on this page is computed, not typed in — following the rule that also makes F# major spell its seventh degree E#, not F.