B minor
B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C♯, D, E, F♯, G, and A. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major.
 | |
| Relative key | D major |
|---|---|
| Parallel key | B major |
| Dominant key | F-sharp minor |
| Subdominant | E minor |
| Component pitches | |
| B, C♯, D, E, F♯, G, A | |
The B natural minor scale is:
Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The B harmonic minor and melodic minor scales are:
Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart (1739–1791) regarded B minor as a key expressing a quiet acceptance of fate and very gentle complaint, something commentators find to be in line with Bach's use of the key in his St John Passion.[1] By the end of the Baroque era, however, conventional academic views of B minor had shifted: Composer-theorist Francesco Galeazzi (1758–1819)[2] opined that B minor was not suitable for music in good taste. Beethoven labelled a B-minor melodic idea in one of his sketchbooks as a "black key".[3] Brahms, Dvořák, Schubert, Liszt, Chopin, Borodin, and Tchaikovsky all wrote significant works in B minor.
Notable compositions in B minor
- Johann Sebastian Bach
- Béla Bartók
- Alban Berg
- Piano Sonata, Op. 1
- Johannes Brahms
- Alexander Borodin
- Giovanni Bottesini
- Double Bass Concerto, No. 2 in B minor
- Frédéric Chopin
- Scherzo No. 1, Op. 20
- Étude in B minor, Op. 25, No. 10
- Prelude in B minor "Tolling Bells", Op. 28, No. 6
- Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 58
- Waltz in B minor, Op. 69, No. 2
- Charles-Valentin Alkan
- Trois morceaux dans le genre pathétique, Op. 15, No. 2 "Le vent"
- Grande sonate 'Les quatre âges', 20 ans, Op. 33, No. 1
- 49 Esquisses, Op. 63, No. 8 "Pseudo-Naïveté" and No. 30 "Petit air dolent"
- Antonín Dvořák
- Edvard Grieg
- Johann Nepomuk Hummel
- Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 89
- Franz Liszt
- Felix Mendelssohn
- The Hebrides (Fingal's Cave) Overture
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Adagio in B minor, K. 540
- Niccolò Paganini
- Giacomo Puccini
- "E lucevan le stelle" from Tosca
- Camille Saint-Saëns
- Franz Schubert
- Symphony No. 8 (Unfinished), D. 759
- Alexander Scriabin
- Fantaisie in B minor, Op. 28
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- Symphony No. 6 (Pathetique), Op. 74
- Richard Wagner
- "Ride of the Valkyries" from Die Walküre
- Sergei Rachmaninoff
- Moments musicaux in B minor, Op. 16, No. 3
- Prelude in B minor, Op. 32, No. 10
- Études-Tableaux in B minor, Op. 39, No. 4
- Jean Sibelius
- Tapiola, Op. 112
- Anatoly Lyadov
- 3 Pieces, Op. 11, No. 1
- Felix Blumenfeld
- Prelude Op. 17, No. 6
- Ferrucio Busoni
- Prelude Op. 37, No. 6
- Stephen Heller
- Etude Op. 46, No. 11
- Anton Arensky
- Morceaux caractéristique Op. 36, No. 24 "Aux champs"
References
Notes
- Tusa, pp. 2–3, n. 5
- Galeazzi, Elementi di Musica
- Tusa, p. 2, n. 3
Sources
- Galeazzi, Francesco. Elementi teorico-pratici di musica con un saggio sopra l'arte di suonare il violino analizzata, ed a dimostrabili principi ridotta. Ascoli: 1817. See also Francesco Galeazzi, The Theoretical-Practical Elements of Music, Parts III and IV; English translation, with introduction and commentary, by Deborah Burton and Gregory W. Harwood (Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2012); ISBN 978-0-252-03708-5.
- Tusa, Michael C. (1993). "Beethoven's 'C-Minor Mood': Some Thoughts on the Structural Implications of Key Choice". In Christoph Reynolds (ed.). Beethoven Forum. 2. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0803239098.
