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| Relative key | G minor | |
|---|---|---|
| Parallel key | Bb minor | |
| Component pitches | ||
| Bb, C, D, Eb, F, G, A, Bb | ||
- Also see: B-flat minor, or B major.
The musical note B-flat is enharmonically equivalent to A-sharp, and a semitone between A & B. It is, however, lower in pitch, B-flat being a perfect fifth below F, whereas A sharp being a major third above F-sharp. B-flat major is a major scale based on B-flat, consisting of the pitches B-flat, C, D, E-flat, F, G, A and B-flat. Its key signature has two flats, B/E (see below: Scales and keys). Its relative minor is G minor, and its parallel minor is B flat minor.
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B-flat major is a suitable key for most wind instruments, especially those for which it is their home key, such as clarinets, trumpets, and saxophones in B-flat.
Haydn's Symphony No. 98 is credited as the first symphony he (or anyone else) wrote in that key in which he included trumpet and timpani parts. Actually, his brother Michael Haydn had written one such symphony earlier, No. 36. Though Joseph still gets credit for writing the timpani part at actual pitch with an F major key signature (instead of transposing with a C major key signature), a procedure that made sense since he limited that instrument to the tonic and dominant pitches.[1] Many editions of the work, however, use no key signature and specify the instrument as "Timpani in B flat - F." (Note that in German, the pitch B flat is called "B", and B natural is "H", thus the specification for timpani in a B-flat work could be written "Pauken in B. - F.") Five of Mozart's piano concerti are in B-flat major.
Well-known classical compositions in this key
- "Il Mio Tesoro" (from Don Giovanni) - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 4
- Ludwig van Beethoven: "Hammerklavier" Sonata
- Johannes Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2, Haydn Variations
- Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 5
- Sergei Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5, Op. 100
- Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 5
- Ludwig van Beethoven: Marcia Alla Turca
See also list of symphonies in B flat major.
Well-known contemporary music in this key
- 20th Century Fox Fanfare - Lionel Newman
- All I Really Want - Alanis Morissette
- American Dream - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
- As I Lay Me Down - Sophie B. Hawkins
- Bloody Well Right - Supertramp (with verse in G minor)
- Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen (with 'opera' section in A major)
- California - Wave
- Endless Love - Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
- How To Save A Life - The Fray
- In the Ghetto - Elvis Presley
- Irreplaceable - Beyoncé
- It Takes Two - Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston
- Jumpin' Jack Flash - The Rolling Stones
- Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
- Landed - Ben Folds
- Let 'Em In - Wings
- My Guy - Mary Wells
- Hold Your Head- Tupac Shakur
- Mysterious Ways - U2
- Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da - The Beatles
- People Get Ready - Bob Marley
- Praying For Time - George Michael
- Purple Rain - Prince
- Ray of Light - Madonna
- Rebellion (Lies) - Arcade Fire
- The Riddle - Five for Fighting
- Right Now - Van Halen
- Star Trek: The Original Series TV theme - Alexander Courage
- Star Wars Main Theme - John Williams
Well known video game music in this key
References
- ^ H. C. Robbins Landon, Haydn Symphonies London: British Broadcasting Corporation (1966): 57
Scales and keys
| Diatonic Scales and Keys | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| lower case letters are minor the table indicates the number of sharps or flats in each scale |
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External links
- B Flat Major - Free B Flat Major Scale Print Out with Arpeggios and Broken Chords for Piano with Fingering
