Below is a list of all 12 major keys and their corresponding parallel minor keys. The 3rd, 6th and 7th notes are lowered by a half step. G minor scale notes are G – A – B♭ – C – D – E♭ – F – G G major scale notes are G – A – B – C – D – E – F♯ – G Let’s look at another example: The parallel minor of G major is G minor. When comparing the two scales together, you can see the third, sixth and seventh notes of the C minor scale is lowered by a half step. Both scales have the same first scale degree. For example, the parallel minor of C major is C minor. To better understand the relationships between major and minor keys, we will discuss parallel keys here.Įach major scale also has a parallel minor scale. 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).We already know that each major scale has a relative minor scale. For orchestration of piano music, some theorists recommend transposing the music to F major or G major. The pattern of chords in a major key is Major Minor Minor Major Major Minor Diminished. Each of these notes is the root note of one of the chords in E flat major. The notes of this scale are Eb F G Ab Bb C D. The first polka in Smetana's '3 Polkas de Salon' is in F-sharp major.ĭespite the key rarely being used in orchestral music other than to modulate, it is not entirely uncommon in keyboard music. What are the basic chords in the key of E flat major First of all let’s take a look at the Eb major scale.

There's also a transition to an energetic passage in the Dante Sonata that is in F-sharp. Liszt was apparently fond of F-sharp major, having uplifting while meditative pieces like 'Les jeux d'eaux à la villa d'este' from Années de Pèlerinage III, S.163 and 'Bénediction de Dieu dans la Solitude' from the set Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses S.173 in this key. Shostakovich wrote his String Quartet No. Some examples include a Nocturne and the Barcarolle by Chopin, the sonatas of Alexander Scriabin and several pieces from Grieg's Lyric Pieces. This is the circle of fifths.It shows all 12 major keys and 12 minor keys possible in the western system.

Like G-flat major, F-sharp major is rarely used in orchestral music, other than in passing. 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. 2, Mahler's unfinished Tenth Symphony, Korngold's Symphony Op.

78, Verdi's ' Va, pensiero' from Nabucco, a part of Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. See also: List of symphonies in F-sharp majorį-sharp major is the key of the minuet in Haydn's 'Farewell' Symphony, of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No.

E flat major relative minor