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{{Short description|Major scale based on A-flat}}
'''A-flat major''' is a [[major scale]] based on A-flat, consisting of the pitches '''A-flat''', B-flat, '''C''', D-flat, '''E-flat''', F, G, and '''A-flat'''. Its [[key signature]] consists of four flats.
{{Infobox musical scale
| name=A-flat major<br><score>{ \magnifyStaff #3/2 \omit Score.TimeSignature \key aes \major s16 \clef F \key aes \major s^"" }</score>
| relative=[[F minor]]
| parallel=[[A-flat minor]]
| dominant=[[E-flat major]]
| subdominant=[[D-flat major]]
| first_pitch=A{{music|flat}}|
| second_pitch=B{{music|flat}}
| third_pitch=C
| fourth_pitch=D{{music|flat}}
| fifth_pitch=E{{music|flat}}
| sixth_pitch=F
| seventh_pitch=G
}}
'''A-flat major''' is a [[major scale]] based on [[A♭ (musical note)|A{{music|flat}}]], with the pitches A{{flat|music}}, [[B♭ (musical note)|B{{music|flat}}]], [[C (musical note)|C]], [[D♭ (musical note)|D{{music|flat}}]], [[E♭ (musical note)|E{{music|flat}}]], [[F (musical note)|F]], and [[G (musical note)|G]]. Its [[key signature]] has four [[Flat (music)|flats]].


[[Image:A-flat Major key signature.png]]
The A-flat major scale is:


<score sound="1"> {
Its [[relative key|relative minor]] is [[F minor]].
\omit Score.TimeSignature \relative c'' {
\key aes \major \time 7/4 aes bes c des es f g aes g f es des c bes aes
\clef F \key aes \major
} }


</score>
[[Beethoven]] often chose A-flat major as the key for a slow movement following a movement in [[C minor]], a practice which [[Anton Bruckner]] imitated in his first two C minor symphonies.
Its [[relative key|relative minor]] is [[F minor]]. Its [[parallel key|parallel minor]], [[A-flat minor]], is usually written instead as the [[enharmonic]] key of [[G-sharp minor]], since A-flat minor, which contains seven flats, is not normally used. Its enharmonic, [[G-sharp major]], with eight [[Sharp (music)|sharps]], including the F{{music|doublesharp}}, has a similar problem, and so A-flat major is often used as the parallel major for G-sharp minor. (The same enharmonic situation also occurs with the keys of [[D-flat major]] and [[C-sharp minor]].)

== Scale degree chords ==
The [[scale degree]] chords of A-flat major are:
* [[Tonic (music)|'''Tonic''']] – A-flat major
* '''[[Supertonic]]''' – [[B-flat minor]]
* '''[[Mediant]]''' – [[C minor]]
* '''[[Subdominant]]''' – [[D-flat major]]
* [[Dominant (music)|'''Dominant''']] – [[E-flat major]]
* '''[[Submediant]]''' – [[F minor]]
* '''[[Leading-tone]]''' – [[Diminished triad|G diminished]]

== Compositions in A-flat major ==
{{see also|List of symphonies in A-flat major}}
[[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]] chose A-flat major as the key of the slow movement for most of his [[Beethoven and C minor|C minor]] works, a practice which [[Anton Bruckner]] imitated in his first two C minor symphonies and also [[Antonín Dvořák]] in [[Symphony No. 1 (Dvořák)|his only C minor symphony]]. The second movement of [[Joseph Haydn|Haydn]]'s [[Symphony No. 43 (Haydn)|43rd symphony]] in [[E-flat major]] is in A-flat major. [[Frédéric Chopin]] used this key in many of his works, particularly in his [[Waltzes (Chopin)|waltzes]].

Since A-flat major was rarely chosen as the main key for orchestral works of the 18th century, passages or movements in the key often retained the [[timpani]] settings of the preceding movement. For example, Beethoven's [[Symphony No. 5 (Beethoven)|Symphony No. 5]] has the timpani set to C and G for the first movement. With hand-tuned timpani, there is no time to re-tune the timpani to A-flat and E-flat for the slow second movement in A-flat major; accordingly, the timpani in this movement are reserved for the passages in C major. In Bruckner's [[Symphony No. 1 (Bruckner)|Symphony No. 1 in C minor]], however, the timpani are re-tuned between the first movement in C minor and the following in A-flat major.

[[Charles-Marie Widor]] considered A-flat major to be the second best key for flute music.<ref>[[Charles-Marie Widor]], ''Manual of Practical Instrumentation'' translated by Edward Suddard, revised edition. London: Joseph Williams (1946) Reprinted Mineola, New York: Dover (2005): 11. "No key suits it [the flute] better than D-flat [major]. ... A-flat [major] is likewise an excellent key."</ref>

A-flat major was the flattest major key to be used as the home key for the keyboard and piano sonatas of [[Domenico Scarlatti]], [[Joseph Haydn]] and Ludwig van Beethoven, with each of them using the key for two sonatas: Scarlatti's K. 127 and K. 130, Haydn's Hob XVI 43 and 46, and Beethoven's [[Piano Sonata No. 12 (Beethoven)|Op. 26]] and [[Piano Sonata No. 31 (Beethoven)|Op. 110]], while [[Franz Schubert]] used it for [[Piano Sonata in A-flat major, D. 557 (Schubert)|one piano sonata]]. It was also the flattest major key to be used for the preludes and fugues in [[Johann Sebastian Bach]]'s ''[[Well-Tempered Clavier]]'', as flatter major keys were notated as their enharmonic equivalents.

[[Felix Mendelssohn]], [[Johann Nepomuk Hummel]], [[John Field (composer)|John Field]], and [[Friedrich Kalkbrenner]] each wrote one piano concerto in A-flat (Mendelssohn's being for two pianos); they had the horns and trumpet tuned to E-flat. [[Max Bruch]]'s [[Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (Bruch)|Concerto for Two Pianos]] in [[A-flat minor]] has its last movement in A-flat major, which is the parallel major; this concerto plays with the contrast between the two keys.

[[Scott Joplin]]'s [[Maple Leaf Rag]] is also written in A-flat major (the trio part of the composition is written in D-flat major).

Other compositions in A-flat major include:
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
*[[Ludwig van Beethoven]]
**[[Piano Sonata No. 12 (Beethoven)|Piano Sonata No. 12]]
**[[Piano Sonata No. 31 (Beethoven)|Piano Sonata No. 31]]
*[[Carl Maria von Weber]]
**[[Piano Sonata No. 2 (Weber)|Piano Sonata No. 2]]
*[[Frédéric Chopin]]
**[[Polonaise-Fantaisie (Chopin)|Polonaise-Fantaisie]], Op. 61
**[[Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53|"Heroic" Polonaise]], Op. 53
**[[Ballade No. 3 (Chopin)|Ballade No. 3]], Op. 47
**[[Étude Op. 10, No. 10 (Chopin)|Étude Op. 10 No. 10]]
**[[Étude Op. 25, No. 1 (Chopin)|Étude Op. 25 No. 1]]
**[[Trois nouvelles études|Trois nouvelles études, No. 2]]
**[[Nocturnes, Op. 32 (Chopin)|Nocturne Op. 32 No. 2]]
**[[Preludes (Chopin)|Prelude Op. 28 No. 17]]
**[[Waltzes, Op. 34 (Chopin)|Waltz Op. 34 No. 1]]
**[[Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 42 (Chopin)|Waltz Op. 42]]
**[[Waltzes (Chopin)|Waltz Op. 64 No. 3]]
**[[Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 69, No. 1 (Chopin)|Waltz, Op. 69, No. 1]]
**[[Mazurkas, Op. 59 (Chopin)|Mazurka Op. 59 No. 2]]
**[[Mazurkas, Op. 50 (Chopin)|Mazurka Op. 50 No. 2]]
**[[Impromptu No. 1 (Chopin)|Impromptu No. 1]], Op. 29
*[[Antonín Dvořák]]
**[[String Quartet No. 14 (Dvořák)|String Quartet No. 14]]
*[[Edward Elgar]]
**[[Symphony No. 1 (Elgar)|Symphony No. 1]]
*[[Franz Liszt]]
**[[Transcendental Étude No. 9 (Liszt)|Transcendental Étude No. 9]], "Ricordanza"
**Au Lac de Wallenstadt, [[Au bord d'une source]] and Eglogue from [[Ann%C3%A9es de p%C3%A8lerinage|''Années de Pèlerinage'']] No.&nbsp;1
**Sonetto 123 del Petrarca from [[Ann%C3%A9es de p%C3%A8lerinage|''Années de Pèlerinage'']] No. 2
**[[Liebestr%C3%A4ume|Liebesträume]] No. 1 and 3
**[[Feuilles d%27album, S.165 (Liszt)|Feuilles d'Album]]
**[[Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia (1772–1806)#Musical activities|Élégie sur des motifs du Prince Louis Ferdinand de Prusse]], S.&nbsp;168
*[[Felix Mendelssohn]]
**[[Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra in A-flat major (Mendelssohn)|Second Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra]]
**''[[Songs Without Words|Lieder ohne Worte]]'', Op. 38/6 and Op. 53/1
*[[Ferdinand Ries]]
**[[Piano Concerto No. 8 (Ries)|Piano concerto no. 8]] Op. 151, ''Gruß an den Rhein''
*[[Franz Schubert]]
**[[Mass No. 5 (Schubert)|Mass No. 5 D 678]]
**[[Piano Sonata in A-flat major, D 557 (Schubert)|Piano Sonata D 557]]
**[[Impromptus (Schubert)|Impromptu Op. 90/4 (D 899/4) and Op. 142/2 (D 935/2)]]
*[[Dmitri Shostakovich]]
**[[String_Quartet_No._10_(Shostakovich)|String Quartet No. 10]], Op. 118
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{commons category-inline}}


{{Circle of fifths}}
{{Circle of fifths}}


[[Category:Musical keys]]
[[Category:Musical keys]]
[[Category:Major scales]]
[[de:As-Dur]]
[[Category:Compositions in A-flat major| ]]
[[ja:&#22793;&#12452;&#38263;&#35519;]]
[[pl:As-dur]]

Latest revision as of 19:15, 9 September 2024

A-flat major
{ \magnifyStaff #3/2 \omit Score.TimeSignature \key aes \major s16 \clef F \key aes \major s^"" }
Relative keyF minor
Parallel keyA-flat minor
Dominant keyE-flat major
SubdominantD-flat major
Component pitches
A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G

A-flat major is a major scale based on A♭, with the pitches A♭, B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, and G. Its key signature has four flats.

The A-flat major scale is:

{ \omit Score.TimeSignature \relative c'' { \key aes \major \time 7/4 aes bes c des es f g aes g f es des c bes aes \clef F \key aes \major } }

Its relative minor is F minor. Its parallel minor, A-flat minor, is usually written instead as the enharmonic key of G-sharp minor, since A-flat minor, which contains seven flats, is not normally used. Its enharmonic, G-sharp major, with eight sharps, including the Fdouble sharp, has a similar problem, and so A-flat major is often used as the parallel major for G-sharp minor. (The same enharmonic situation also occurs with the keys of D-flat major and C-sharp minor.)

Scale degree chords

[edit]

The scale degree chords of A-flat major are:

Compositions in A-flat major

[edit]
See also: List of symphonies in A-flat major

Beethoven chose A-flat major as the key of the slow movement for most of his C minor works, a practice which Anton Bruckner imitated in his first two C minor symphonies and also Antonín Dvořák in his only C minor symphony. The second movement of Haydn's 43rd symphony in E-flat major is in A-flat major. Frédéric Chopin used this key in many of his works, particularly in his waltzes.

Since A-flat major was rarely chosen as the main key for orchestral works of the 18th century, passages or movements in the key often retained the timpani settings of the preceding movement. For example, Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 has the timpani set to C and G for the first movement. With hand-tuned timpani, there is no time to re-tune the timpani to A-flat and E-flat for the slow second movement in A-flat major; accordingly, the timpani in this movement are reserved for the passages in C major. In Bruckner's Symphony No. 1 in C minor, however, the timpani are re-tuned between the first movement in C minor and the following in A-flat major.

Charles-Marie Widor considered A-flat major to be the second best key for flute music.[1]

A-flat major was the flattest major key to be used as the home key for the keyboard and piano sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti, Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven, with each of them using the key for two sonatas: Scarlatti's K. 127 and K. 130, Haydn's Hob XVI 43 and 46, and Beethoven's Op. 26 and Op. 110, while Franz Schubert used it for one piano sonata. It was also the flattest major key to be used for the preludes and fugues in Johann Sebastian Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, as flatter major keys were notated as their enharmonic equivalents.

Felix Mendelssohn, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, John Field, and Friedrich Kalkbrenner each wrote one piano concerto in A-flat (Mendelssohn's being for two pianos); they had the horns and trumpet tuned to E-flat. Max Bruch's Concerto for Two Pianos in A-flat minor has its last movement in A-flat major, which is the parallel major; this concerto plays with the contrast between the two keys.

Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag is also written in A-flat major (the trio part of the composition is written in D-flat major).

Other compositions in A-flat major include:

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Charles-Marie Widor, Manual of Practical Instrumentation translated by Edward Suddard, revised edition. London: Joseph Williams (1946) Reprinted Mineola, New York: Dover (2005): 11. "No key suits it [the flute] better than D-flat [major]. ... A-flat [major] is likewise an excellent key."
[edit]
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