B flat major
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
![]() |
||
Relative key | G minor | |
---|---|---|
Parallel key | B♭ minor | |
Component pitches | ||
B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G, A, B♭ |
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 consists of two flats.
Its relative minor is G minor, and its parallel minor is B flat minor.
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 the first symphony he (or anyone else) wrote in that key in which he included trumpet and timpani parts. He wrote 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.
Contents |
[edit] 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
- Edward Elgar: The theme of "Enigma" Variations
- Sergei Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5, Op.100
- Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 5
- Ludwig van Beethoven: Marcia Alla Turca
[edit] Well-known contemporary music in this key
- 20th-Century Fox Fanfare - Lionel Newman
- "All I Really Want" - Alanis Morissette
- "Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen (with 'opera' section in A major)
- "How To Save A Life" - The Fray
- "Il Canto degli Italiani" - Michele Novaro (Italian National Anthem)
- "In the Ghetto" - Elvis Presley
- "Irreplaceable - Beyoncé
- "The Internationale" - Eugene Pottier (Soviet version)
- "Johnny B. Goode" - Chuck Berry
- "Jumpin' Jack Flash" - The Rolling Stones
- "Just You 'N' Me" - Chicago
- "Karma Chameleon" - Culture Club
- "La Marseillaise" - Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (French National Anthem)
- "Land of Make Believe" - Chuck Mangione
- The Legend of Zelda Overworld Theme - Koji Kondo
- "Let 'Em In" - Wings
- "Mandy" - Barry Manilow
- "My Guy" - Mary Wells
- "Mysterious Ways" - U2
- "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" - Steam
- "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" - The Beatles
- "One Love/People Get Ready" - Bob Marley
- "Purple Rain" - Prince
- "Rag Doll" - The Four Seasons
- "Ray of Light" - Madonna
- "Real World" - Matchbox 20
- "Rocket Man" - Elton John
- "The Star Spangled Banner" - Francis Scott Key (National Anthem of the United States)
- Star Trek: The Original Series theme - Alexander Courage
- Star Wars Main Theme -John Williams
- "Strawberry Fields Forever" - The Beatles (even though it was spliced from two different takes in two different keys)
- "Sunshine on My Shoulders" - John Denver
- "The Chicken" - Jaco Pastorious
- "Top of the World" - Carpenters
- "Venus" - Frankie Avalon
- "Walk Like a Man" - The Four Seasons (bridge in E flat major)
- "When I Met You" - Apo Hiking Society
Diatonic Scales and Keys | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
lower case letters are minor the table indicates the number of sharps or flats in each scale |
[edit] References
- ^ H. C. Robbins Landon, Haydn Symphonies London: British Broadcasting Corporation (1966): 57
[edit] External links
- B Flat Major - Free B Flat Major Scale Print Out with Arpeggios and Broken Chords for Piano with Fingering