C minor

C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, and B♭. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E♭ major and its parallel major is C major.

This article is about the C minor scale. For the chord C minor, see minor chord.
C minor
Relative keyE♭ major
Parallel keyC major
Dominant keyG minor
SubdominantF minor
Component pitches
C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭

The C natural minor scale is:

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

Characteristics

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

Joseph Haydn wrote the first piano sonata, No. 20, in C minor (H.XVI No. 20). Of the two piano concertos that Mozart wrote in a minor key, one of them (No. 24, K. 491) is in C minor.

Beethoven wrote some of his most characteristic works in the key of C minor, including the Symphony No. 5 and three of his piano sonatas. (See Beethoven and C minor.)

Brahms's first symphony and first string quartet were composed in C minor; these were both genres with which Beethoven was closely associated during Brahms's lifetime.

Three of Anton Bruckner's ten numbered symphonies are in C minor, as are two of Dmitri Shostakovich's symphonies.

Notable compositions
See also: List of symphonies in C minor

See also

Media related to C minor at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.