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Wave in A
Wave in A — Jobim at his most harmonically refined, with elegant chromatic voice leading throughout. Lydian mode suits the floating tonic sections; Lydian Dominant captures the characteristic altered dominant sound. Changes: Amaj7 – Fdim7 – Em7 – A7b9 – Dmaj7 – Dm6 – C#13 – C#7b13 – F#9 – F#7b9 – B9 – F7 – E7 – Am7 – D7 – Dm7/Bb – G7/Bb – Cmaj7/A – Cm7/Ab – F7/Ab – A#maj7/G – E7b9.
Key of A
A major is a rock and blues cornerstone. The open A string delivers a strong root, while both E strings ring as the fifth. Classic A-D-E progressions practically play themselves with open cowboy chords. The open high E is the fifth, reinforcing power. A is a beginner-level key on guitar because the open A string is the root and the open E strings provide the fifth above and below, creating a massive low-end anchor. Beginners will find this key approachable since most chords use open voicings with minimal stretching.
Voice Leading
The bass line moves through A to F (descending major third), F to E (descending half step), E to A (ascending perfect fourth), A to D (ascending perfect fourth), D to D (ascending unison), D to C# (descending half step), C# to C# (ascending unison), C# to F# (ascending perfect fourth), F# to F# (ascending unison), F# to B (ascending perfect fourth), B to F (ascending tritone), F to E (descending half step), E to A (ascending perfect fourth), A to D (ascending perfect fourth), D to D (ascending unison), D to G (ascending perfect fourth), G to C (ascending perfect fourth), C to C (ascending unison), C to F (ascending perfect fourth), F to A# (ascending perfect fourth), A# to E (ascending tritone). A half-step bass movement creates a strong leading-tone pull that demands resolution. The root motion by larger intervals (fourths and fifths) gives each chord change a strong, decisive character. When the progression loops, the bass returns from E to A by perfect fourth.
Scales for Improvisation
A major pentatonic works because every note is either a chord tone or a safe passing tone — there are no avoid notes. For soloing, this means you can play freely without clashing. Over dominant seventh chords, A Mixolydian adds the flat seventh for an authentic blues-rock edge.