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F minor#E-sharp minor

{{Short description|Minor key and scale based on the note F}}

{{Infobox musical scale

| name=F minor
{ \magnifyStaff #3/2 \omit Score.TimeSignature \key f \minor s16 \clef F \key f \minor s^"" }

| relative=A-flat major

| parallel=F major

| dominant=C minor

| subdominant=B-flat minor

| first_pitch=F

| second_pitch=G

| third_pitch=A{{music|flat}}

| fourth_pitch=B{{music|flat}}

| fifth_pitch=C

| sixth_pitch=D{{music|flat}}

| seventh_pitch=E{{music|flat}}

}}

F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A♭ (musical note), B♭ (musical note), C, D♭ (musical note), and E♭ (musical note). Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp minor, has six single sharps and the double sharp F{{music|doublesharp}}, which makes it impractical to use.

The F natural minor scale is

{{block indent|

\header { tagline = ##f }

scale = \relative f' { \key f \minor \omit Score.TimeSignature

f^"F natural minor scale" g as bes c des es f es des c bes as g f2 \clef F \key f \minor }

\score { { << \cadenzaOn \scale \context NoteNames \scale >> } \layout { } \midi { } }

}}

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

{{block indent|

\header { tagline = ##f }

scale = \relative f' { \key f \minor \omit Score.TimeSignature

f^"F harmonic minor scale" g as bes c des e f e! des c bes as g f2 }

\score { { << \cadenzaOn \scale \context NoteNames \scale >> } \layout { } \midi { } }

}}

{{block indent|

\header { tagline = ##f }

scale = \relative f' { \key f \minor \omit Score.TimeSignature

f^"F melodic minor scale" g as bes c d e f es? des? c bes as g f2 }

\score { { << \cadenzaOn \scale \context NoteNames \scale >> } \layout { } \midi { } }

}}

Scale degree chords

The scale degree chords of F minor are:

Music in F minor

Famous pieces in the key of F minor include Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata, Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2, Ballade No. 4, Haydn's Symphony No. 49, La Passione and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4.

Glenn Gould once said if he could be any key, he would be F minor, because "it's rather dour, halfway between complex and stable, between upright and lascivious, between gray and highly tinted... There is a certain obliqueness."Cathering Meng, Tonight's the Night (Apostrophe Books, 2007): 21

Hermann von Helmholtz once described F minor as harrowing and melancholy. Christian Schubart described this key as "Deep depression, funereal lament, groans of misery and longing for the grave".{{Cite web|url=https://legacy.wmich.edu/mus-theo/courses/keys.html|access-date=20 March 2025|title=Affective Musical Key Characteristics|website=legacy.wmich.edu|publisher=Western Michigan University}}

=Notable compositions=

{{see also|List of symphonies in F minor}}

{{Div col|colwidth=25em}}

{{Div col end}}

E-sharp minor

{{Infobox scale

| name=E-sharp minor
{ \magnifyStaff #3/2 \omit Score.TimeSignature \key eis \minor s16 \clef F \key eis \minor s^"" }
{{nobold|Alternative notation}}{ \magnifyStaff #3/2 \omit Score.TimeSignature \set Staff.keyAlterations = #`((3 . ,SHARP)(0 . ,SHARP)(4 . ,SHARP)(1 . ,SHARP)(-2 . ,SHARP)(2 . ,SHARP)(-1 . ,SHARP)(3 . ,DOUBLE-SHARP)) s^"" }

| relative=G-sharp major (theoretical)
→enharmonic: A-flat major

| parallel=E-sharp major (theoretical)
→enharmonic: F major

| dominant=B-sharp minor (theoretical)
→enharmonic: C minor

| subdominant=A-sharp minor

| enharmonic=F minor

| first_pitch=E♯

| second_pitch=F{{music|doublesharp}}

| third_pitch=G♯

| fourth_pitch=A♯

| fifth_pitch=B♯

| sixth_pitch=C♯

| seventh_pitch=D♯

}}

E-sharp minor is a key based on the musical note E♯ (musical note), consisting of the pitches E♯, F{{music|x}}, G♯, A♯, B♯, C♯ and D♯. Its key signature has eight sharps, requiring one double sharp and six single sharps. Because E-sharp minor requires eight sharps, including the F{{music|x}}, it is almost always notated as its enharmonic equivalent of F minor, with four flats. The same is true of the relative major of G-sharp major, usually replaced by A-flat major. E-sharp major, the parallel major, would be replaced by F major, since E-sharp major requires four double-sharps.

The E-sharp natural minor scale is:

{{block indent|

\header { tagline = ##f }

scale = \relative f' { \key eis \minor \omit Score.TimeSignature

eis^"E♯ natural minor scale" fisis gis ais bis cis dis eis dis cis bis ais gis fisis eis2 \clef F \key eis \minor }

\score { { << \cadenzaOn \scale \context NoteNames \scale >> } \layout { } \midi { } }

}}

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

{{block indent|

\header { tagline = ##f }

scale = \relative f' { \key eis \minor \omit Score.TimeSignature

eis^"E♯ harmonic minor scale" fisis gis ais bis cis disis eis disis! cis bis ais gis fisis eis2 }

\score { { << \cadenzaOn \scale \context NoteNames \scale >> } \layout { } \midi { } }

}}

{{block indent|

\header { tagline = ##f }

scale = \relative f' { \accidentalStyle modern \key eis \minor \omit Score.TimeSignature

eis^"E♯ melodic minor scale" fisis gis ais bis cisis disis eis dis? cis? bis ais gis fisis eis2 }

\score { { << \cadenzaOn \scale \context NoteNames \scale >> } \layout { } \midi { } }

}}

Although E-sharp minor is usually notated as F minor, it could be used on a local level, such as bars 17 to 22 in Johann Sebastian Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp major, BWV 848. (E-sharp minor is the mediant minor key of C-sharp major.)

The scale-degree chords of E-sharp minor are:

See also

Notes

{{reflist}}

External links

  • {{Commons category-inline|F minor}}

{{Circle of fifths}}

Category:Musical keys

Category:Minor scales