B-flat major 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 doubl ...

based on B, with pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. 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 cl ...

has two

flats Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Apartment, known as a flat in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), a two-dimens ...

. 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 of the same notes but are arranged in a different order of whole steps and half steps. A pair of ma ...

G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. The G natural minor scale is: Changes n ...

and its

parallel minor In music theory, a major scale and a minor scale that have the same starting note ( tonic) 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 Wils ...

B-flat minor B-flat minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has five flats. Its relative major is D-flat major and its parallel major is B-flat major. Its enharmonic equivalent, A-s ...

. The B-flat major scale is: Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The B-flat

harmonic major In music theory, the harmonic major scale is a musical scale found in some music from the common practice era and now used occasionally, most often in jazz. It corresponds to the Raga Sarasangi in Indian Carnatic music, or Raag Nat Bhairav in H ...

and

melodic 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 ...

s are: Many

transposing instrument A transposing instrument is a musical instrument for which music notation is not written at concert pitch (concert pitch is the pitch on a non-transposing instrument such as the piano). For example, playing a written middle C on a transposing ...

s are pitched in B-flat major, including the

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

, and

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a small, high-pitched member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented in the 1840s by Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax. Built in B♭ an octave above the tenor saxophone (or rarely, slightly small ...

. As a result, B-flat major is one of the most popular keys for

concert band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind instrument, woodwind, brass ...

compositions.

Scale degree chords

The

scale degree In music theory, the scale degree is the position of a particular note on a scale relative to the tonic—the first and main note of the scale from which each octave is assumed to begin. Degrees are useful for indicating the size of intervals ...

chords of B-flat major are: * Tonic – B-flat major *

Supertonic In music, the supertonic is the second degree () of a diatonic scale, one whole step above the tonic. In the movable do solfège system, the supertonic note is sung as ''re''. The triad built on the supertonic note is called the supertonic ...

–

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: Cha ...

Mediant In music, the mediant (''Latin'': "being in the middle") is the third scale degree () of a diatonic scale, being the note halfway between the tonic and the dominant.Benward & Saker (2003), p.32. In the movable do solfège system, the mediant no ...

–

D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed ...

Subdominant In music, the subdominant is the fourth tonal degree () of the diatonic scale. It is so called because it is the same distance ''below'' the tonic as the dominant is ''above'' the tonicin other words, the tonic is the dominant of the subdomina ...

–

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

* Dominant –

F major F major is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat.Music Theory'. (1950). United States: Standards and Curriculum Division, Training, Bureau of Naval Personnel. 28. Its relati ...

Submediant In music, the submediant is the sixth degree () of a diatonic scale. The submediant ("lower mediant") is named thus because it is halfway between the tonic and the subdominant ("lower dominant") or because its position below the tonic is symm ...

–

Leading-tone In music theory, a leading tone (also called subsemitone or leading note in the UK) is a note or pitch which resolves or "leads" to a note one semitone higher or lower, being a lower and upper leading tone, respectively. Typically, leading to ...

– A diminished

History

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

's Symphony No. 98 is often credited as the first symphony written in that key, including

and

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...

parts. However, his brother

Michael Haydn Johann Michael Haydn (; 14 September 1737 – 10 August 1806) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn. Life Michael Haydn was born in 1737 in the Austrian village of Rohra ...

wrote one such symphony earlier, No. 36. Nonetheless, Joseph Haydn still gets credit for writing the timpani part at actual pitch with an

key signature (instead of transposing with a

C major C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel min ...

key signature), a procedure that made sense since he limited that instrument to the tonic and dominant pitches. H. C. Robbins Landon, ''Haydn Symphonies'', London: British Broadcasting Corporation (1966): 57 Many editions of the work use no key signature and specify the instrument as "Timpani in B–F".

Notable classical compositions

François Couperin François Couperin (; 10 November 1668 – 11 September 1733) was a French Baroque music, Baroque composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was known as ''Couperin le Grand'' ("Couperin the Great") to distinguish him from other members of the musi ...

** '' Les Barricades Mystérieuses'' *

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: Help:IPA/Standard German, �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque music, Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety ...

** Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 *

Luigi Boccherini Ridolfo Luigi Boccherini (, also , ; 19 February 1743 – 28 May 1805) was an Italian composer and cellist of the Classical era whose music retained a courtly and '' galante'' style even while he matured somewhat apart from the major classi ...

** Cello Concerto No. 9, G. 482 *

** Symphony No. 85 (''La Reine'') ** Symphony No. 98 ** Symphony No. 102 ** Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Cello, Oboe and Bassoon ** String Quartet Op. 76 No. 4 (''Sunrise'') *

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

** Symphony No. 2 ** Symphony No. 5 ** Symphony No. 24 ** Symphony No. 33 ** Piano Concerto No. 6 ** Piano Concerto No. 15 ** Piano Concerto No. 18 ** Piano Concerto No. 27 ** String Quintet No. 1 ** String Quartet No. 17 (''Hunt'') ** Violin Sonata No. 32 ** Piano Sonata No. 3 ** Piano Sonata No. 13 (''Linz'') ** Piano Sonata No. 17 *

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

** Piano Concerto No. 2 ** Symphony No. 4 ** String Quartet No. 6 ** String Quartet No. 13 ** ''

Große Fuge The ''Grosse Fuge'' (, also known in English as the ''Great Fugue'' or ''Grand Fugue''), Op. 133, is a single-movement composition for string quartet by Ludwig van Beethoven. An immense double fugue, it was universally condemned by contempora ...

'' ** Piano Sonata No. 11 ** Piano Sonata No. 29 (''Hammerklavier'') ** Piano Trio, Op. 97 (''Archduke'') *

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

** Impromptu No. 3, Op. 142 ** Mass No. 3 ** Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, D. 965 ** Piano Sonata No. 21, D. 960 ** Piano Trio No. 1, D. 898 ** Symphony No. 2 ** Symphony No. 5 *

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

** Symphony No. 2 (''Lobgesang'') ** String Quintet No. 2 ** Cello Sonata No. 1 *

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

** Variations on "Là ci darem la mano" for piano and orchestra, Op. 2 ** Mazurka Op. 7, No. 1 ** Prelude Op. 28, No. 21 "Sunday" ** Polonaise Op. 71, No. 2 *

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

** Symphony No. 1, Op. 38, (''Frühling'') ** The second, fourth and sixth movement of ''

Kreisleriana ''Kreisleriana'', Op. 16, is a composition in eight movements by Robert Schumann for solo piano, subtitled ''.'' Schumann claimed to have written it in only four days in April 1838 and a revised version appeared in 1850. The work was dedicated ...

'', Op. 16 ** Humoreske for piano, Op. 20 ** '' Faschingsschwank aus Wien'' for piano, Op. 26 *

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

** Transcendental Étude No. 5 (''Feux follets'') from ''

Transcendental Études The ''Transcendental Études'' (), S.139, is a set of twelve compositions for piano by Franz Liszt. They were published in 1852 as a revision of an 1837 set (which had not borne the title "d'exécution transcendante"), which in turn were – f ...

'' *

Anton Bruckner Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...

** Symphony No. 5 *

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

** Piano Concerto No. 2 ** String Quartet No. 3 ** String Sextet No. 1 ** '' Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel'' **

Variations on a Theme by Haydn The ''Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn'' (), now also called the ''Saint Anthony Variations'', is a work in the form of a theme and variations, composed by Johannes Brahms in the summer of 1873 at Tutzing in Bavaria. It consists of a theme i ...

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphony, symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber music, chamber, vocal and ins ...

** Symphony no. 1 *

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

** Symphony No. 5 ** Piano Concerto No. 4 ** Piano Sonata No. 7 ** Piano Sonata No. 8 *

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 First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

** String Quartet No. 5 *

Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (; ; ; – ) was a Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five (composers), The Five." He was an innovator of Music of Russia, Russian music in the Romantic music, Romantic period and strove to achieve a ...

** "Promenade" from ''

Pictures at an Exhibition ''Pictures at an Exhibition'' is a piano suite in ten movements, plus a recurring and varied Promenade theme, written in 1874 by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky. It is a musical depiction of a tour of an exhibition of works by architect and ...

'' *

Ottorino Respighi Ottorino Respighi ( , , ; 9 July 187918 April 1936) was an Italian composer, violinist, teacher, and musicologist and one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. List of compositions by Ottorino Respighi, His compositions ra ...

** "The Pines of the Villa Borghese" from ''

Pines of Rome ''Pines of Rome'' (), P 141, is a tone poem in four movements for orchestra completed in 1924 by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. It is the second of his three tone poems about Rome, following '' Fontane di Roma'' (1916) and preceding '' ...

References

External links

* {{Circle of fifths Musical keys Major scales