F-sharp major
F-sharp major (or the key of F♯) is a major scale based on F♯, consisting of the pitches F♯, G♯, A♯, B, C♯, D♯, and E♯. Its key signature has six sharps.[1]
 | |
| Relative key | D-sharp minor |
|---|---|
| Parallel key | F-sharp minor |
| Dominant key | C-sharp major |
| Subdominant | B major |
| Enharmonic | G-flat major |
| Component pitches | |
| F♯, G♯, A♯, B, C♯, D♯, E♯ | |
The F-sharp major scale is:
The direct enharmonic equivalent of F-sharp major is G-flat major, a key signature with six flats. Its relative minor is D-sharp minor (or enharmonically E-flat minor) and its parallel minor is F-sharp minor.
Music in F-sharp major
F-sharp major is the key of the minuet in Haydn's "Farewell" Symphony, of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 24, Op. 78, of Chopin's Barcarolle, of Verdi's "Va, pensiero" from Nabucco, of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, of Mahler's unfinished Tenth Symphony, of Korngold's Symphony Op. 40, of Scriabin's Piano Sonata No. 4. The key was the favorite tonality of Olivier Messiaen, who used it repeatedly throughout his work to express his most exciting or transcendent moods, most notably in the Turangalîla-Symphonie.
In writing music for transposing instruments in B♭ or E♭, it is preferable to use G-flat major rather than the F-sharp key signature. If F-sharp major must absolutely be used, one should take care that B♭ wind instruments be notated in A-flat major, rather than G-sharp major (or E♮/B♮ instruments used instead, giving a transposed key of D major/G major).
Like G-flat major, F-sharp major is rarely used in orchestral music, other than in passing. It is more common in piano music, such as the sonatas of Alexander Scriabin and Grieg's Lyric Pieces.
References
- Frederic Woodman Root (1874). The Song Era: A Book of Instruction and Music for Elementary and Advanced Singing Classes, Choirs, Institutes and Conventions. John Church. p. 9.
External links
Media related to F-sharp major at Wikimedia Commons- List of instrumental music in F-sharp major, stephenjablonsky.net