B minor

B minor
Relative key D major
Parallel key B major
Dominant key F-sharp minor
Subdominant E minor
Component pitches
B, C♯, D, E, F♯, G, A

B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C♯, D, E, F♯, G, and A. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major.

The B natural minor scale is:

{ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \key b \minor \time 7/4 b4^\markup "B natural minor scale" cis d e fis g a b a g fis e d cis b2 } }

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

{ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \key b \minor \time 7/4 b4^\markup "B harmonic minor scale" cis d e fis g ais b ais g fis e d cis b2 } }
{ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \key b \minor \time 7/4 b4^\markup "B melodic minor scale (ascending and descending)" cis d e fis gis ais b a! g! fis e d cis b2 } }

Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart (1739–1791) regarded B minor as a key expressing a quiet acceptance of fate and very gentle complaint, something commentators find to be in line with Bach's use of the key in his St John Passion.[1] By the end of the Baroque era, however, conventional academic views of B minor had shifted: Composer-theorist Francesco Galeazzi (1758–1819)[2] opined that B minor was not suitable for music in good taste. Beethoven labelled a B-minor melodic idea in one of his sketchbooks as a "black key".[3] Brahms, Dvořák, Schubert, Liszt, Chopin, Borodin, and Tchaikovsky all wrote significant works in B minor.

Notable compositions in B minor

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ Tusa, pp. 2–3, n. 5
  2. ↑ Galeazzi, Elementi di Musica
  3. ↑ Tusa, p. 2, n. 3

Sources

  • Galeazzi, Francesco. Elementi teorico-pratici di musica con un saggio sopra l'arte di suonare il violino analizzata, ed a dimostrabili principi ridotta. Ascoli: 1817. See also Francesco Galeazzi, The Theoretical-Practical Elements of Music, Parts III and IV; English translation, with introduction and commentary, by Deborah Burton and Gregory W. Harwood (Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2012); ISBN 978-0-252-03708-5.
  • Tusa, Michael C. (1993). "Beethoven's 'C-Minor Mood': Some Thoughts on the Structural Implications of Key Choice". In Christoph Reynolds. Beethoven Forum. 2. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803239098.
  • Media related to B minor at Wikimedia Commons
Circle of fifths
FlatsSharps
MajorminorMajorminor
0CaCa
1FdGe
2B♭gDb
3E♭cAf♯
4A♭fEc♯
5D♭b♭Bg♯
6G♭e♭F♯d♯
7C♭a♭C♯a♯
8F♭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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