B-flat minor

Minor scale based on B-flat

B-flat minor

Relative key| D-flat major

|

Parallel key| B-flat major
Dominant key| F minor
Subdominant| E-flat minor
Enharmonic| A-sharp minor
Component pitches
B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭, A♭

B-flat minor is a minor scale based on B♭, consisting of the pitches B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭, and A♭. Its key signature has five flats. Its relative major is D-flat major and its parallel major is B-flat major. Its enharmonic equivalent, A-sharp minor, which would contain seven sharps, is not normally used.

The B-flat natural minor scale is:

Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can download the audio file.

Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The B-flat harmonic minor and melodic minor scales are:

Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can download the audio file.

Audio playback is not supported in your browser. You can download the audio file.

## Scale degree chords[edit]

* Tonic \- B-flat minor
* Supertonic \- C diminished
* Mediant \- D-flat major
* Subdominant \- E-flat minor
* Dominant \- F minor
* Submediant \- G-flat major
* Subtonic \- A-flat major

## Characteristics[edit]

B-flat minor is traditionally a 'dark' key.[1]

The old valveless horn was barely capable of playing in B-flat minor: the only example found in 18th-century music is a modulation that occurs in the first minuet of Franz Krommer's Concertino in D major, Op. 80.[2]

## Notable classical compositions[edit]

See also: List of symphonies in B-flat minor

* Charles-Valentin Alkan
* Prelude Op. 31, No. 12 (Le temps qui n'est plus)
* Symphony for Solo Piano, 3rd movement: Menuet
* Samuel Barber
* Adagio for Strings
* Frédéric Chopin
* Piano Sonata No. 2 "Funeral March"[3]
* Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1[4]
* Scherzo No. 2[5]
* Prelude Op. 28, No. 16 "Hades"[6]
* Mazurka Op. 24, No. 4
* Franz Liszt
* Transcendental Étude No. 12 (Chasse-neige) from Transcendental Études
* Sergei Rachmaninoff
* Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 36
* Alexander Scriabin
* Études Op. 8: No. 11 in B-flat minor
* Dmitri Shostakovich
* Symphony No. 13, Op. 113 ("Babi Yar")
* String Quartet No. 13, Op. 138
* Richard Strauss
* An Alpine Symphony begins and ends in B-flat minor.
* Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
* Piano Concerto No. 1[7]
* Marche slave
* William Walton
* Symphony No. 1

## References[edit]

1. ^ Wilfrid Mellers, "Round and About in Górecki's Symphony No. 3" Tempo 168 3 (1989): 23
2. ^ J. Murray Barbour, Trumpets, Horns, and Music (1964), p. 163
3. ^ Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 35 (Chopin): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
4. ^ Nocturnes, Op. 9 (Chopin): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
5. ^ Scherzo No. 2, Op. 31 (Chopin): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
6. ^ Preludes, Op.28 (Chopin): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
7. ^ Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 23 (Tchaikovsky): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

## External links[edit]

* Media related to B-flat minor at Wikimedia Commons

* v
* t
* e

Diatonic scales and keys

| Circle of fifths |  | No. | 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.
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[No.]: Number