B minor is a

minor scale In music theory, the minor scale is three scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending) – rather than just two as with the major scale, which ...

based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its

key signature In Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp (), flat (), or rarely, natural () symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music. The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef a ...

has two sharps. Its relative major is

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

and its parallel major is B major. The B

natural minor scale In music theory, the minor scale is three scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending) – rather than just two as with the major scale, which a ...

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

harmonic minor In music theory, the minor scale is three scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending) – rather than just two as with the major scale, which also ...

and melodic minor scales are: : :

Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart (24 March 1739 – 10 October 1791), was a German poet, organist, composer, and journalist. He was repeatedly punished for his social-critical writing and spent ten years in severe conditions in jail. Life Bor ...

(1739–1791) regarded B minor as a key expressing a quiet acceptance of fate and very gentle complaint, something commentators find to be in line with Bach's use of the key in his '' St John Passion''. By the end of the Baroque era, however, conventional academic views of B minor had shifted: Composer-theorist Francesco Galeazzi (1758–1819) opined that B minor was not suitable for music in good taste.

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

labelled a B-minor melodic idea in one of his sketchbooks as a "black key".

Notable compositions in B minor

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

** Mass in B minor ** Orchestral Suite No. 2, BWV 1067 **

Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 544 Prelude may refer to: Music *Prelude (music), a musical form *Prelude (band), an English-based folk band * Prelude Records (record label), a former New York-based dance independent record label *Chorale prelude, a short liturgical composition for ...

** French Suite No. 3, BWV 814 **

Flute Sonata in B minor, BWV 1030 The Sonata in B minor for transverse flute and obbligato harpsichord by Johann Sebastian Bach (BWV 1030) is a sonata in 3 movements: * '' Andante'' * ''Largo e dolce'' * ''Presto'' The existing autograph manuscript dates from after 1735, when Ba ...

* Johannes Brahms **

Clarinet Quintet Traditionally a clarinet quintet is a chamber musical ensemble made up of one clarinet, plus the standard string quartet of two violins, one viola, and one cello. Now the term clarinet quintet can refer to five B clarinets; four B clarinets and a ...

* Alexander Borodin ** Symphony No. 2 * Frédéric Chopin ** Scherzo No. 1, Op. 20 **

Étude An étude (; ) or study is an instrumental musical composition, usually short, designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular musical skill. The tradition of writing études emerged in the early 19th century with the rapidl ...

, Op. 25, No. 10 ** Prelude in B minor "Tolling Bells", Op. 28, No. 6 ** Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 58 **

Waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...

, Op. 69, No. 2 * Antonín Dvořák ** Cello Concerto, Op. 104 * Johann Nepomuk Hummel ** Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 89 * Franz Liszt **

Piano Sonata A piano sonata is a sonata written for a solo piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, although some piano sonatas have been written with a single movement ( Scarlatti, Liszt, Scriabin, Medtner, Berg), others with ...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

** Adagio, K. 540 *

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices fo ...

** Violin Concerto No. 2, Op. 7 * Sergei Rachmaninoff ** ''Moments musicaux'' No. 3, Op. 16 ** Prelude in B minor, Op. 32, No. 10 ** ''Études-Tableaux'' No. 4 in B minor, Op. 39 * Camille Saint-Saëns ** Violin Concerto No. 3, Op. 61 *

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wo ...

** Symphony No. 8 (''Unfinished''), D. 759 * Alexander Scriabin ** Fantaisie in B minor, Op. 28 *

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

** Symphony No. 6 (''Pathetique''), Op. 74

References

Notes Sources * See also Francesco Galeazzi, ''The Theoretical-Practical Elements of Music,'' Parts III and IV; English translation, with introduction and commentary, by Deborah Burton and Gregory W. Harwood (Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2012); . *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:B Minor Musical keys Minor scales