G-sharp minor: Difference between revisions

G-sharp minor
Relative key	B major
Parallel key	G-sharp major; enharmonic: A-flat major
Dominant key	D-sharp minor; enharmonic: E-flat minor
Subdominant	C-sharp minor
Enharmonic	A-flat minor
Component pitches
	G♯, A♯, B, C♯, D♯, E, F♯

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Revision as of 23:45, 21 May 2019

G-sharp minor is a minor scale based on G♯, consisting of the pitches G♯, A♯, B, C♯, D♯, E, and F♯. Its key signature has five sharps.

The G-sharp natural minor scale is:

${ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c'' { \clef treble \key gis \minor \time 7/4 gis4^\markup "Natural minor scale" ais b cis dis e fis gis fis e dis cis b ais gis2 } }$

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

${ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c'' { \clef treble \key gis \minor \time 7/4 gis4^\markup "Harmonic minor scale" ais b cis dis e fisis gis fisis e dis cis b ais gis2 } }$

${ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c'' { \clef treble \key gis \minor \time 7/4 gis4^\markup "Melodic minor scale (ascending and descending)" ais b cis dis eis fisis gis fis! e! dis cis b ais gis2 } }$

Its relative major is B major. Its parallel major, G-sharp major, is usually replaced by its enharmonic equivalent of A-flat major, since G-sharp major features an F in the key signature and A-flat major only has four flats, making it rare for G-sharp major to be used. A-flat minor, its enharmonic, with seven flats, has a similar problem, thus G-sharp minor is often used as the parallel minor for A-flat major. (The same enharmonic situation occurs with the keys of D-flat major and C-sharp minor).

Music in G-sharp minor

Despite the key rarely being used in orchestral music other than to modulate, it is not entirely uncommon in keyboard music, as in Piano Sonata No. 2 by Alexander Scriabin, who actually seemed to prefer writing in it. It is also found in the second movement in Shostakovitch's 8th String quartet. If G-sharp minor is used, composers generally write B♭ wind instruments in the enharmonic B-flat minor, rather than A-sharp minor to facilitate reading the music (or A instruments used instead, giving a transposed key of B minor). Where available, instruments in D♭ can be used instead, giving a transposed key of the enharmonic G minor, rather than F minor, while the E horns would have parts written in the key of E minor.

In a few scores, the sharp A in the bass clef is written on the top line.^{[citation needed]}

Few symphonies are written in G-sharp minor; among them are Nikolai Myaskovsky's 17th Symphony, Christopher Schlegel's 5th Symphony, Elliot Goldenthal's Symphony in G-sharp minor (2014) and an abandoned work of juvenilia by Marc Blitzstein.

Frédéric Chopin composed a Polonaise in G-sharp minor, opus posthumous in 1822. His Étude No. 6 is in G-sharp minor as well.

Modest Mussorgsky wrote both “The Old Castle” and “Cattle” movements from Pictures at an Exhibition in G-sharp minor.

Liszt's La campanella from his Grandes études de Paganini is in G-sharp minor.

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 | image_name=B-major g-sharp-minor.svg
 | relative=[[B major]]
-| parallel=[[G-sharp major|G{{music|sharp}} major]]<br>enharmonic: [[A-flat major|A{{music|b}}&nbsp;major]]
+| parallel=[[G-sharp major]]<br>enharmonic: [[A-flat major]]
-| dominant=[[D-sharp minor|D{{music|sharp}} minor]]<br>enharmonic: [[E-flat minor|E{{music|b}}&nbsp;minor]]
+| dominant=[[D-sharp minor]]<br>enharmonic: [[E-flat minor]]
-| subdominant=[[C-sharp minor|C{{music|sharp}} minor]]
+| subdominant=[[C-sharp minor]]
+| enharmonic=[[A-flat minor]]
-| enharmonic=[[A-flat minor|A{{music|flat}} minor]]
 | first_pitch=G{{music|sharp}}
 | second_pitch=A{{music|sharp}}