A minor

A minor
Relative key C major
Parallel key A major
Dominant key E minor
Subdominant D minor
Component pitches
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A
A natural minor scale ascending and descending.  Play 
A harmonic minor scale ascending and descending.  Play 
A melodic minor scale ascending and descending.  Play 
A melodic minor scale in just intonation ascending and descending.  Play 

A minor (abbreviated Am) is a minor scale based on A, consisting of the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats or sharps (see below: Scales and keys). However the harmonic minor scale raises the G to G.

Its relative major is C major, and its parallel major is A major.

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

Johann Joachim Quantz considered A minor, along with C minor, much more suitable for expressing "the sad effect" than other minor keys (Versuch einer Anweisung die Flöte traversiere zu spielen).

Change from A major to A minor with naturals to cancel out the sharps.

Whereas traditionally key signatures were cancelled with naturals whenever the new key signature had fewer sharps or flats than the old key signature, or had flats instead of sharps or vice versa (so, for example, D major changing to D minor would be notated with a key signature of F, C, and B at the change), in modern popular and commercial music, cancellation is only done when C major or A minor replaces another key.[1]

Well-known compositions in this key

See also

References

  1. Matthew Nicholl & Richard Grudzinski, Music Notation: Preparing Scores and Parts, ed. Jonathan Feist. Boston: Berklee Press (2007): 56. "In popular and commercial music, the old key signature is cancelled only if the new key is C major or A minor."

External links

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