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

F natural minor scale ascending and descending.  Play 

F harmonic minor scale ascending and descending.  Play 

F melodic minor scale ascending and descending.  Play 

F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A♭, B♭, C, D♭, and E♭. The harmonic minor raises the E♭ to E♮. Its key signature has four flats.

Its relative major is A-flat major, and its parallel major is F major.

Two famous pieces in the key of F minor are Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata, and Haydn's Symphony No. 49 in F minor, 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]

Notable compositions

• Violin Concerto L'inverno, RV 297, Op. 8, No. 4 – Antonio Vivaldi
• Piano Sonata No. 1 Op. 2/1 - Ludwig van Beethoven
• Piano Sonata No. 23, Op. 57 (Appassionata) – Ludwig van Beethoven
• String Quartet No. 11, Op. 95 "Serioso" – Ludwig van Beethoven
• Fantasia in F minor – Franz Schubert
• Harpsichord Concerto No. 5, BWV 1056 – Johann Sebastian Bach
• "Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ", BWV 639 – J. S. Bach
• Ballade No. 4, Op. 52 – Chopin
• Fantaisie in F minor, Op. 49 – Frédéric Chopin
• Transcendental Étude No. 10 (Liszt)-Franz Liszt
• Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 21 – Chopin
• Piano Quintet, Op. 34 – Johannes Brahms
• Symphony No. 4 - Tchaikovsky
• Mass No. 3 - Anton Bruckner
• String Quintet - Alexander Borodin
• L'apprenti sorcier – Paul Dukas
• Symphony No. 1 - Dmitri Shostakovich
• String Quartet No. 11, Op. 122 (1966), Dmitri Shostakovich

E-sharp minor

E♯ minor

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

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

Its relative major is G-sharp major, while its parallel major is E-sharp major, usually replaced by F major, due to the presence of 4 double-sharps in the E-sharp major scale causing it to be one of the more impractical key signatures in music to use. For clarity and simplicity, E-sharp minor is usually notated as F minor. However, E-sharp minor could be used on a local level, such as a brief passage in Johann Sebastian Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, Prelude and Fugue No. 3 in C-sharp major. (E♯ minor is the mediant minor key of C♯ major.)

Notes

External links

Media related to F minor at Wikimedia Commons

Diatonic scales and keys
	Flats Sharps Major minor Major minor 0 C a 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♯ 8 F♭ d♭ G♯ e♯
The table indicates the number of sharps or flats in each scale. Minor scales are written in lower case.