A 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 also ...

based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. 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 no

flats Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

and no sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major. The A

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 A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combinat ...

and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with

accidentals In music, an accidental is a note of a pitch (or pitch class) that is not a member of the scale or mode indicated by the most recently applied key signature. In musical notation, the sharp (), flat (), and natural () symbols, among others, ma ...

as necessary. The A harmonic minor and melodic minor scales are: : :

Well-known compositions in A 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 w ...

** Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041 *

Ludwig van 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 classical ...

** Violin Sonata No. 4, Op. 23 ** String Quartet No. 15, Op. 132 ** Bagatelle in A minor, "Für Elise" * Johannes Brahms **

Double Concerto A double concerto (Italian: ''Doppio concerto''; German: ''Doppelkonzert'') is a concerto featuring two performers—as opposed to the usual single performer, in the solo role. The two performers' instruments may be of the same type, as in Bach's ...

, Op. 102 * Frédéric Chopin ** Étude Op. 10, No. 2 ** Étude Op. 25, No. 4 ** Étude Op. 25, No. 11, ''Winter Wind'' ** Mazurka Op. 17, No. 4 ** Mazurka Op. 59, No. 1 ** ''Boléro'', Op. 19 ** Prelude No. 2 in A minor, Op. 28/2 ** Waltz in A minor, Op. 34, B. 150 * Franz Liszt ** Transcendental Étude No. 2, ''Fusées'' *

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

** Piano Concerto, Op. 16 * Johann Nepomuk Hummel ** Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 85 * Gustav Mahler ** Symphony No. 6 **

Piano Quartet A piano quartet is a chamber music composition for piano and three other instruments, or a musical ensemble comprising such instruments. Those other instruments are usually a string trio consisting of a violin, viola and cello. Piano quartets for ...

* Felix Mendelssohn ** Symphony No. 3, ''Scottish'' *

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 ...

** Piano Sonata No. 8, K. 310 * Camille Saint-Saëns **''

Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso The ''Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso'' in A minor (french: Introduction et Rondo capriccioso), Op. 28, is a composition for violin and orchestra written in 1863 by Camille Saint-Saëns. It was dedicated to the virtuoso violinist Pablo de Sar ...

'', Op. 28 ** Cello Concerto No. 1, Op. 33 *

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 wor ...

** Piano Sonata, D 537 ** Piano Sonata, D 784 ** Piano Sonata, D 845 **

Arpeggione Sonata The Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano in A minor, D. 821, was written by Franz Schubert in Vienna in November 1824. The sonata is the only substantial composition for the arpeggione (which was essentially a bowed guitar) extant today. The sonata wa ...

, D. 821 *

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

** Piano Concerto, Op. 7 * Robert Schumann ** Violin Sonata No. 1, Op. 105 ** Piano Concerto, Op. 54 ** Cello Concerto, Op. 129 *

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 ...

** Caprice No. 24 *

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

** Symphony No. 4, Op. 63 * Ralph Vaughan Williams **

Oboe Concerto A number of concertos (as well as non-concerto works) have been written for the oboe, both as a solo instrument as well as in conjunction with other solo instrument(s), and accompanied by string orchestra, chamber orchestra, full orchestra, conce ...

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...

** Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 99

External links

* {{Circle of fifths Musical keys Minor scales