Relative key | B♭ major | |
---|---|---|
Parallel key | G major | |
Dominant key | ||
Subdominant | ||
Notes in this scale | ||
G, A, B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G |
G minor is a minor scale based on G.
Its relative major is B-flat major. G minor is one of two flat key signatures that needs a sharp for the seventh note (the other is D minor).
During the Baroque period, music in G minor was usually written with a one-flat key signature.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart thought that G minor was the most suitable key for showing sadness and tragedy,[1] and many of his minor key works are in G minor, such as the Piano Quartet No. 1 and the String Quintet in G minor. G minor is the only minor key he used as a main key for his numbered symphonies (No. 25, and the famous No. 40). In the Classical period, symphonies in G minor almost always used four horns, two in G and two in B-flat alto.[2] G minor symphonies like Mozart's No. 25 often used E flat major for the slow movement, including Haydn's No. 39 and Vanhal's G minor symphony from before 1771 (Bryan Gm1).[3]
See also: List of symphonies in G minor.
There are many variations of G minor.
Variation | Description |
---|---|
G minor 7th | a g minor chord containing G, Bb/A#, D, and F |
G minor major 7th | a G minor chord with a Major 7th. |
G minor major | a combination of G minor and G major. |
G minor 6th | a G minor chord with a Major 6th. |
G minor 9th | G minor 7th containing A. |
G minor 2nd | a G minor with Ab or G#. |
G augmented minor | the augmented version of G minor. |
G diminished | has C#/Db instead of D. |
G minor 7th-5 | G diminished with minor 7th. |
G diminished 7th | a G diminished with a major 6th. |
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The table shows the number of sharps or flats in each scale. Minor scales are written in lower case. |