C minor

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This article is about the C minor scale. For the chord C minor, see minor chord.
C minor
E-flat-major c-minor.svg
Relative keyE♭ major
Parallel keyC major
Dominant keyG minor
SubdominantF minor
Component pitches
C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭

C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, and B♭. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E♭ major and its parallel major is C major.

The C natural minor scale is:

{ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \key c \minor \time 7/4 c4^\markup "C natural minor scale" d es f g aes bes c bes aes g f es d c2 \clef bass \key c \minor } }

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

{ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \key c \minor \time 7/4 c4^\markup "C harmonic minor scale" d es f g aes b c b aes g f es d c2 } }
{ \override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f \relative c' { \clef treble \key c \minor \time 7/4 c4^\markup "C melodic minor scale (ascending and descending)" d es f g a b c bes! aes! g f es d c2 } }

Characteristics[]

In the Baroque period, music in C minor was usually written with a two-flat key signature, and some modern editions of that repertoire retain that convention.

Joseph Haydn wrote the first piano sonata, No. 20, in C minor (H.XVI No. 20). Of the two piano concertos that Mozart wrote in a minor key, one of them (No. 24, K. 491) is in C minor.

Beethoven wrote some of his most characteristic works in the key of C minor, including the Symphony No. 5 and three of his piano sonatas. (See Beethoven and C minor.)

Brahms's first symphony and first string quartet were composed in C minor; these were both genres with which Beethoven was closely associated during Brahms's lifetime.

Three of Anton Bruckner's ten numbered symphonies are in C minor, as are two of Dmitri Shostakovich's symphonies.

Notable compositions[]

See also: List of symphonies in C minor

See also[]

External links[]

  • Media related to C minor at Wikimedia Commons
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