C-sharp minor

C♯ minor
Relative key E major
Parallel key C♯ major
enharmonic: D♭ major
Dominant key G♯ minor
Subdominant F♯ minor
Component pitches
C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯, A, B, C♯
C-sharp natural minor scale ascending and descending.  Play 
C-sharp harmonic minor scale ascending and descending.  Play 
C-sharp melodic minor scale ascending and descending.  Play 

C-sharp minor or C♯ minor is a minor scale based on C♯, with the pitches C♯, D♯, E, F♯, G♯, A, and B. For the C-sharp harmonic minor, the B is raised to B♯ (which is equivalent to C). Its key signature consists of four sharps.

Its relative major is E major, and its parallel major is C♯ major, usually replaced by D♭ major, since C♯ major features seven sharps in its key signature and D♭ major only has five flats, making it rare for C♯ major to be used, with a similar problem to that of D♭ minor, having a double-flat in its key signature. Therefore, C♯ minor is often used as the parallel minor for D♭ major.

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

Classical music in this key

There are only two known symphonies in the 18th century written in this key. One of them is by Joseph Martin Kraus, but he appears to have found the key difficult since he later rewrote it in C minor. Even in the following two centuries, C-sharp minor symphonies remained rare. Two notable examples are the first movement of Mahler's Symphony No. 5[1]) and Prokofiev's Symphony No. 7.

This key occurs more often in piano literature from the 18th century onwards. Domenico Scarlatti wrote just two keyboard sonatas in C-sharp minor, K. 246 and K. 247. But after Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 (Moonlight Sonata), the key became more frequent in the piano repertoire. Beethoven himself used this key again in the outer movements of his String Quartet No. 14 (Op. 131, 1826). Even so, Johannes Brahms still felt the need to rewrite his C-sharp minor Piano Quartet in C minor, which was published as Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60.

Frédéric Chopin often wrote in this key: examples include the Fantaisie-Impromptu, Scherzo No. 3 (Op. 39), and nocturnes No. 7 (Op. 27, No. 1) and No. 20 (Lento con gran espressione). Another very famous example of a work in C-sharp minor is Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-sharp minor (Op. 3, No. 2).

Piano concertos written in C-sharp minor include Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, Op. 17, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Piano Concerto, and others by Ferdinand Ries, Xaver Scharwenka, Amy Beach, Miriam Hyde and Issay Dobrowen. Dmitri Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 2 is in C-sharp minor.

Jules Van Nuffel wrote his psalm setting In convertendo Dominus for choir and organ in C-sharp minor.

Notable songs

References

External links

Diatonic scales and keys
Flats Sharps
Major minor Major minor
0 C a C a
1 F d G e
2 B♭ g D b
3 E♭ c A f♯
4 A♭ f E c♯
5 D♭ b♭ B g♯
6 G♭ e♭ F♯ d♯
7 C♭ a♭ C♯ a♯
8 F♭ d♭ G♯ e♯
The table indicates the number of sharps or flats in each scale. Minor scales are written in lower case.
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