G-flat major

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

G♭ major (or the key of G♭) is a major scale based on G♭, consisting of the pitches G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭, and F. Its key signature has six flats.

Its relative minor is E♭ minor (or enharmonically D♯ minor), and its parallel minor is G♭ minor, usually replaced by F♯ minor, since G♭ minor's two double-flats make it generally impractical to use. The direct enharmonic equivalent of G♭ major is F♯ major, a key signature with six sharps. G♭ is more in common.

The G♭ major scale is:

${ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c'' { \clef treble \key ges \major \time 7/4 ges4 aes bes ces des es f ges f es des ces bes aes ges2 } }$

Characteristics

Like F♯ major, G♭ major is rarely chosen as the main key for orchestral works, it is more often used as a main key for piano works, such as the impromptus of Chopin and Schubert. It is the predominant key of Maurice Ravel's Introduction and Allegro for harp, flute, clarinet and string quartet.

A striking use of G♭ major can be found in the love duet "Tu l'as dit" that concludes the fourth act of Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera Les Huguenots.

Italian composer Ottorino Respighi composed Notturno in G♭ major, composed in 1904.

In the canonic 24 keys, Alkan, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Shchedrin and Winding used G♭ major over F♯ major, but this does not affect the integrity of the scheme as the key sequence breaks down.

Clementi chose G♭ for the "Grande Exercice" and F♯ for the prelude.

Czech composer Antonín Dvořák composed Humoresque No. 7 in G♭ major, while its middle section is F♯ minor.

Austrian composer Gustav Mahler was fond of using G♭ major in key passages of his symphonies. Examples include: the choral entry during the finale of his Second Symphony,^[1] during the first movement of his Third Symphony,^[2] the modulatory section of the Adagietto from his Fifth Symphony,^[3] and during the Rondo-Finale of his Seventh Symphony.^[4] Mahler's Tenth Symphony was composed in the enharmonic key of F♯ major.

This key is more often found in piano music, as the use of all five black keys allows an easier conformity to the player's hands, despite the numerous flats. Austrian composer Franz Schubert chose this key for his third impromptu from his first collection of impromptus (1827). Polish composer Frédéric Chopin wrote two études in the key of G♭ major: Étude Op. 10, No. 5 "Black Key" and Étude Op. 25, No. 9 "Butterfly". French composer Claude Debussy used this key for one of his most popular compositions, La fille aux cheveux de lin, the eighth prélude from his Préludes, Book I (1909-1910).

References

↑ Mahler, Gustav. Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 in Full Score, Dover, ISBN 0-486-25473-9 (1987) p. 354.
↑ Mahler, Gustav. Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4 in Full Score, Dover, ISBN 0-486-26166-2 (1989), p. 53.
↑ Mahler, Gustav. Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6 in Full Score, Dover, ISBN 0-486-26888-8 (1991), p. 175.
↑ Mahler, Gustav. Symphony No. 7 in Full Score, Dover, ISBN 0-486-27339-3 (1992), p. 223.

External links

List of instrumental music in G-flat major

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[1] Mahler, Gustav. Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 in Full Score, Dover, ISBN 0-486-25473-9 (1987) p. 354.

[2] Mahler, Gustav. Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4 in Full Score, Dover, ISBN 0-486-26166-2 (1989), p. 53.

[3] Mahler, Gustav. Symphonies Nos. 5 and 6 in Full Score, Dover, ISBN 0-486-26888-8 (1991), p. 175.

[4] Mahler, Gustav. Symphony No. 7 in Full Score, Dover, ISBN 0-486-27339-3 (1992), p. 223.

Component pitches

Relative key	E♭ minor enharmonic: D♯ minor
Parallel key	G♭ minor enharmonic: F♯ minor
Dominant key	D♭ major
Subdominant	C♭ major enharmonic: B major
Enharmonic	F♯ major
G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭, F