F minor

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

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

The F natural minor scale is:

{ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \key f \minor \time 7/4 f4^\markup "F natural minor scale" g aes bes c des es f es des c bes aes g2 } }

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

{ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \key f \minor \time 7/4 f4^\markup "F harmonic minor scale" g aes bes c des e f e des c bes aes g2 } }
{ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \key f \minor \time 7/4 f4^\markup "F melodic minor scale (ascending and descending)" g aes bes c d e f es! des! c bes aes g2 } }

Music in F minor

Three famous pieces in the key of F minor are Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata, Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 and Haydn's Symphony No. 49, La Passione.

Glenn Gould once said if he could be any key, he would be F minor, because "it's rather dour, halfway between complex and stable, between upright and lascivious, between gray and highly tinted... There is a certain obliqueness."[1]

Helmholtz once described F minor as harrowing and melancholy. Schubart described this key as "Deep depression, funereal lament, groans of misery and longing for the grave".

Notable compositions

E♯ minor

E♯ minor
Relative key G♯ major (A♭ major)
Parallel key E♯ major (F major)
Dominant key B♯ minor (C minor)
Subdominant A♯ minor (B♭ minor)
Enharmonic F minor
Component pitches
E♯, F, G♯, A♯, B♯, C♯, D♯

E♯ minor is a theoretical key based on the musical note E♯ and consisting of the pitches E♯, F, G♯, A♯, B♯, C♯ and D♯. Its key signature has six sharps and one double sharp (or eight sharps).

The E♯ natural minor scale is:

{ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \key eis \minor \time 7/4 eis4^\markup "Natural minor scale" fisis gis ais bis cis dis eis dis cis bis ais gis fisis eis2 } }

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

{ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \key eis \minor \time 7/4 eis4^\markup "Harmonic minor scale" fisis gis ais bis cis disis eis disis cis bis ais gis fisis eis2 } }
{ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \key eis \minor \time 7/4 eis4^\markup "Melodic minor scale (ascending and descending)" fisis gis ais bis cisis disis eis dis! cis! bis ais gis fisis eis2 } }

Its relative major is G♯ major, which is usually replaced by A♭ major. Its parallel major, E♯ major, is usually replaced by F major, due to the presence of 4 double-sharps in the E♯ major scale causing it to be one of the more impractical key signatures in music to use. Although E♯ minor is usually notated as F minor, it could be used on a local level, such as bars 17~22 in Johann Sebastian Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, Prelude and Fugue No. 3 in C♯ major. (E♯ minor is the mediant minor key of C♯ major.)

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Cathering Meng, Tonight's the Night (Apostrophe Books, 2007): 21
  • Media related to F 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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