C minor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

C minor

Relative key	E♭ major
Parallel key	C major
Enharmonic
Component pitches
C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C

Also see: C major, or C-sharp minor.

C minor (abbreviated c or cm) is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D E♭, F, G, A♭, and B♭. The harmonic minor raises the B♭ to B♮.

Its key signature consists of three flats (see below: Scales and keys).

Contents 1 Well-known classical compositions in this key 2 Well-known popular songs in this key 3 Scales and keys 4 See also 5 Notes

In the Baroque period, music in C minor was usually written with a two-flat key signature, and some modern editions of that repertoire keep it that way.

Its relative key is E-flat major, and its parallel major is C major.

Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary.

Of the two piano concertos that Mozart wrote in a minor key, one of them is in C minor, No. 24, K. 491.

C minor has been associated with heroic struggle since Beethoven's time, with the quintessential work in the key being his Symphony No. 5; see Beethoven and C minor. The fact that Brahms's Symphony No. 1 is in C minor contributed to it being nicknamed "Beethoven's Tenth" (Beethoven's actual Symphony No. 10 in E flat major may have had a significant central C minor section in the first movement). Three of Anton Bruckner's ten numbered symphonies are in C minor.

[edit] Well-known classical compositions in this key

• Great Mass in C minor (Mozart) - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Symphony No. 5 in C Minor - Ludwig van Beethoven
• Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor (Pathétique) - Ludwig van Beethoven
• Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor - Sergei Rachmaninoff

See also: List of symphonies in C minor

[edit] Well-known popular songs in this key

• Bliss - Muse
• Could You Be Loved - Bob Marley
• Desert Rose - Sting
• Get Up, Stand Up - Bob Marley
• It's My Life - Bon Jovi
• Lollipop - Lil Wayne
• Lonely Days - The Bee Gees
• Parallel Universe - Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Say It Ain't So - Weezer
• Seven Day Fool - Jully Black
• That's the Way I Like It - KC and the Sunshine Band
• This Love - Maroon 5
• Toxic - Britney Spears
• Tragedy - The Bee Gees

[edit] Scales and keys

v • d • e Diatonic Scales and Keys
	flats sharps major minor major minor 0 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♯
lower case letters are minor the table indicates the number of sharps or flats in each scale

[edit] See also

List of symphonies in C minor

[edit] Notes