A major piano chord

The notes in A major

Root

A La

Major third

C♯ Do♯

Perfect fifth

E Mi

Find A on the keyboard

A is the white key between the middle and right black keys in a group of three.

For this root-position chord, the highlighted keys are A, C♯, E. White keys: 2. Black keys: 1. Start with A as the lowest note.

Why these notes belong together

From A, move up four semitones to C♯, then three more to E. This makes a major third and a perfect fifth above the root: A, C♯, E.

One semitone is the move to the very next piano key, white or black. Count each move, rather than counting your starting key.

One small exercise to start with

1. Find and play A on its own.
2. Play A, C♯, E slowly, one note at a time, then together. Let your hand stay relaxed.
3. Lift your hand, find A again and rebuild the chord. Aim to find the notes comfortably before adding speed.

Try the same chord in a new order

Move the lowest A up one octave. The notes become C♯, E, A, with C♯ at the bottom. This is first inversion: the chord still contains the same notes, in a different order. Try it after the starting position feels familiar.

Tell A major apart from nearby chords

A major and A♯ major start on different keys. The first uses A, C♯, E; the second uses A♯, C♯♯, E♯. Find each starting note before comparing their sound.

A minor uses A, C, E. Compared with A major, its third is one semitone lower while the root and fifth stay the same.

A clear next step

Stay with this chord until you can find its notes without guessing. Then use the note-reading tool or follow the adult beginner guide to put this small step into a learning path.