G sharp minor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Relative key | B major | |
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Parallel key | G♯ major enharmonic: A♭ major |
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Component pitches | ||
G♯, A♯, B, C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯ |
G sharp minor is a minor scale based on G sharp, consisting of the pitches G sharp, A sharp, B, C sharp, D sharp, E, F double sharp and G sharp (harmonic minor scale). Its key signature consists of five sharps.
Its relative major is B major, and its parallel major is G sharp major, usually replaced by A flat major, since G sharp major, which would have eight sharps, is not normally used. Its enharmonic equivalent is A flat minor.
Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary.
Few symphonies are written in G sharp minor; among them are Nikolai Myaskovsky's Seventeenth Symphony, Christopher Schlegel's Fifth Symphony, and an abandoned work of juvenilia by Marc Blitzstein.
Despite the key rarely being used in orchestral music other than to modulate, it is not entirely uncommon in keyboard music, from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier to the sonatas of Scriabin. For orchestration of piano music, some theorists recommend transposing the music to G minor or A minor. If G sharp minor must absolutely be used, one should take care that B flat wind instruments be notated in B flat minor, rather than A sharp minor.
[edit] Well known works in this key
[edit] Popular music
- Breaking the Girl - Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Brother Where You Bound - Supertramp
- Big Time - Peter Gabriel
- Bye Bye Bye - *NSYNC
- COPS theme
- Crystal - New Order
- Down in a Hole - Alice in Chains
- I.G.Y. (International Geophysical Year) - Donald Fagen
- In Living Color theme song (seasons 3-4)
- It's A Mistake - Men at Work
- Rape Me - Nirvana
- Until It Sleeps - Metallica
- Zoot Suit Riot - Cherry Poppin' Daddies
[edit] Classical pieces
- Etude Op. 25, No. 6 "Thirds" - Chopin
- Prelude Op. 32, No. 12 - Rachmaninov
- Sonata-fantasy - Scriabin
- Kinderszenen, No. 10, Fast zu ernst (Almost Too Serious) - Robert Schumann
- Symphonic Etudes, Etude No. 9 - Robert Schumann
- La Campanella - Liszt
Diatonic Scales and Keys | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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lower case letters are minor the table indicates the number of sharps or flats in each scale |
[edit] References
- A. Morris, "Symphonies, Numbers And Keys" in Bob's Poetry Magazine, III.3, 2006