B-flat minor - Misplaced Pages

(Redirected from B flat minor) Minor scale based on B-flat

B-flat minor ${ \magnifyStaff #3/2 \omit Score.TimeSignature \key bes \minor s16 \clef F \key bes \minor s^"" }$
Component pitches
Relative key	D-flat major
Parallel key	B-flat major
Dominant key	F minor
Subdominant	E-flat minor
Enharmonic	A-sharp minor
B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭, A♭

B-flat minor is a minor scale based on B♭, consisting of the pitches B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭, and A♭. Its key signature has five flats. Its relative major is D-flat major and its parallel major is B-flat major. Its enharmonic equivalent, A-sharp minor, which would contain seven sharps, is not normally used.

The B-flat natural minor scale is:

$\header { tagline = ##f } scale = \relative c' { \key bes \minor \omit Score.TimeSignature bes^"Natural minor scale" c des es f ges aes bes aes ges f es des c bes2 \clef F \key bes \minor } \score { { << \cadenzaOn \scale \context NoteNames \scale >> } \layout { } \midi { } }$

Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The B-flat harmonic minor and melodic minor scales are:

$\header { tagline = ##f } scale = \relative c' { \key bes \minor \omit Score.TimeSignature bes^"Harmonic minor scale" c des es f ges a bes a ges f es des c bes2 } \score { { << \cadenzaOn \scale \context NoteNames \scale >> } \layout { } \midi { } }$

$\header { tagline = ##f } scale = \relative c' { \key bes \minor \omit Score.TimeSignature bes^"Melodic minor scale (ascending and descending)" c des es f g a bes aes! ges! f es des c bes2 } \score { { << \cadenzaOn \scale \context NoteNames \scale >> } \layout { } \midi { } }$

Scale degree chords

The scale degree chords of B-flat minor are:

Characteristics

B-flat minor is traditionally a 'dark' key.

The old valveless horn was barely capable of playing in B-flat minor: the only example found in 18th-century music is a modulation that occurs in the first minuet of Franz Krommer's Concertino in D major, Op. 80.

Notable classical compositions

Charles-Valentin Alkan
- Prelude Op. 31, No. 12 (Le temps qui n'est plus)
- Symphony for Solo Piano, 3rd movement: Menuet
Samuel Barber
- Adagio for Strings
Frédéric Chopin
Franz Liszt
- Transcendental Étude No. 12 (Chasse-neige) from Transcendental Études
Sergei Rachmaninoff
- Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 36
Dmitri Shostakovich
- Symphony No. 13, Op. 113 ("Babi Yar")
- String Quartet No. 13, Op. 138
Richard Strauss
- An Alpine Symphony begins and ends in B-flat minor.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- Piano Concerto No. 1
- Marche slave
William Walton
- Symphony No. 1

References

Wilfrid Mellers, "Round and About in Górecki's Symphony No. 3" Tempo 168 3 (1989): 23
J. Murray Barbour, Trumpets, Horns, and Music (1964), p. 163
Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 35 (Chopin): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Nocturnes, Op. 9 (Chopin): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Scherzo No. 2, Op. 31 (Chopin): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Preludes, Op.28 (Chopin): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 23 (Tchaikovsky): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

External links

Media related to B-flat minor at Wikimedia Commons

Diatonic scales and keys

No.	Flats		Sharps
No.	Major	minor	Major	minor
0	C	a	C	a
1	F	d	G	e
2	B♭	g	D	b
3	E♭	c	A	f♯
4	A♭	f	E	c♯
5	D♭	b♭	B	g♯
6	G♭	e♭	F♯	d♯
7	C♭	a♭	C♯	a♯
8	F♭	d♭	G♯	e♯

The table indicates the number of sharps or flats in each scale. Minor scales are written in lower case.

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