F-sharp major (or the key of F) is a

major scale The major scale (or Ionian mode) is one of the most commonly used musical scales, especially in Western music. It is one of the diatonic scales. Like many musical scales, it is made up of seven notes: the eighth duplicates the first at double i ...

based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. 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 at ...

has six sharps. The F-sharp major scale is: : Its

relative minor In music, relative keys are the major and minor scales that have the same key signatures (enharmonically equivalent), meaning that they share all the same notes but are arranged in a different order of whole steps and half steps. A pair of major an ...

D-sharp minor D-sharp minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has six sharps. Its relative major is F-sharp major (or enharmonically G-flat major), and its parallel major is D-sharp majo ...

(or enharmonically

E-flat minor E-flat minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature consists of six flats. Its relative key is G-flat major (or enharmonically F-sharp major) and its parallel key is E-flat major. ...

) and its

parallel minor In music theory, a major scale and a minor scale that have the same tonic note are called parallel keys and are said to be in a parallel relationship. Forte, Allen (1979). ''Tonal Harmony'', p.9. 3rd edition. Holt, Rinehart, and Wilson. . "When ...

is F-sharp minor. Its direct

enharmonic In modern musical notation and tuning, an enharmonic equivalent is a note, interval, or key signature that is equivalent to some other note, interval, or key signature but "spelled", or named differently. The enharmonic spelling of a written n ...

G-flat major G-flat major (or the key of G-flat) is a major scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has six flats. Its relative minor is E-flat minor (or enharmonically D-sharp minor), and its parallel ...

, contains the same number of flats in its

Music in F-sharp major

F-sharp major is the key of the minuet in Haydn's "Farewell" Symphony, of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 24, Op. 78, Verdi's "

Va, pensiero "" (), also known as the "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves", is a chorus from the opera ''Nabucco'' (1842) by Giuseppe Verdi. It recollects the period of Babylonian captivity after the loss of the First Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BCE. The libretto i ...

" from ''Nabucco'', a part of

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, Mahler's unfinished Tenth Symphony, Korngold's Symphony Op. 40, and Scriabin's Fourth Piano Sonata. The key was the favorite tonality of

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonically ...

, who used it repeatedly throughout his work to express his most exciting or transcendent moods, most notably in the ''

Turangalîla-Symphonie The ''Turangalîla-Symphonie'' is the only symphony by Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992). It was written for an orchestra of large forces from 1946 to 1948 on a commission by Serge Koussevitzky in his wife's memory for the Boston Symphony Orches ...

''. Like

, F-sharp major is rarely used in orchestral music, other than in passing. It is more common in piano music. Some examples include a

Nocturne A nocturne is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of, the night. History The term ''nocturne'' (from French '' nocturne'' 'of the night') was first applied to musical pieces in the 18th century, when it indicated an ensembl ...

and the

Barcarolle A barcarolle (; from French, also barcarole; originally, Italian barcarola or barcaruola, from ''barca'' 'boat') is a traditional folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers, or a piece of music composed in that style. In classical music, two of the mo ...

by Chopin, the sonatas of

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and composed ...

and several pieces from Grieg's ''

Lyric Pieces ''Lyric Pieces'' ( no, Lyriske stykker) is a collection of 66 short pieces for solo piano written by Edvard Grieg. They were published in 10 volumes, from 1867 ( Op. 12) to 1901 (Op. 71). The collection includes several of his best known pieces, ...

''. Liszt was apparently fond of F-sharp major, having uplifting while meditative pieces like "Les jeux d'eaux à la villa d'este" from Anées de Pèlerinage III, S.163 and "Bénediction de Dieu dans la Solitude" from the set

Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses ''Harmonies poétiques et religieuses'' (''Poetic and Religious Harmonies''), S.173, is a cycle of piano pieces written by Franz Liszt at WoronińceVoronivtsi the Polish-Ukrainian country estate of Liszt’s mistress Princess Carolyne von Sayn-W ...

S.173 in this key. There's also a transition to an energetic passage in the

Dante Sonata ''Après une lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata'' (French for ''After a Reading of Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata''; also known as the Dante Sonata) is a piano sonata in one movement, completed by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt in 1849. It was ...

that is in F-sharp major. Despite the key rarely being used in orchestral music other than to modulate, it is not entirely uncommon in keyboard music. For orchestration of piano music, some theorists recommend transposing the music to

F major F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consis ...

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable compositi ...

. If F-sharp major must absolutely be used, one should take care that B♭ wind instruments be notated in

A-flat major A-flat major (or the key of A-flat) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has four flats. The A-flat major scale is: : Its relative minor is F minor. Its parallel minor, A-flat minor, ...

, rather than

G-sharp major G-sharp major is a theoretical key based on the musical note G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has six sharps and one double sharp. Its relative minor is E-sharp minor, which is usually replaced by ...

(or E♮/B♮ instruments used instead, giving a transposed key of

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

/G major).

References

External links

*
List of instrumental music in F-sharp major
stephenjablonsky.net {{Circle of fifths Musical keys Major scales