C minor

This article is about the C minor scale. For the chord C minor, see minor chord.

C minor

Relative key	E♭ major
Parallel key	C major
Component pitches
C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C
Qualities

Ascending and descending C natural minor scale.

C minor melodic scale  listen }

C harmonic minor scale ascending and descending.  Play 

C minor (abbreviated c or Cm) is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, and B♭. The harmonic minor raises the B♭ to B♮. Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with naturals and accidentals as necessary.

Its key signature consists of three flats (see below: Scales and keys). Its relative major is E-flat major, and its parallel major is C major.

Usage

In the Baroque period, music in C minor was usually written with a two-flat key signature, and some modern editions of that repertoire retain that convention.

Of the two piano concertos that Mozart wrote in a minor key, one of them is in C minor, No. 24, K. 491.

C minor has been associated with heroic struggle since Beethoven's time.^{[citation needed]} Beethoven wrote some of his most characteristic works in the key of C minor, including the Symphony No. 5 and no fewer than three piano sonatas. (See Beethoven and C minor.)

Brahms's first symphony and first string quartet were composed in C minor; these were both genres with which Beethoven was closely associated during Brahms's lifetime.

Three of Anton Bruckner's ten numbered symphonies are in C minor, as are two of Dmitri Shostakovich's symphonies.

Notable compositions

• Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582 – Bach
• Cello Suite No. 5, BWV 1011 – Bach
• The Musical Offering, BWV 1079 – Bach
• Great Mass in C minor – Mozart
• Piano Concerto No. 24 – Mozart
• Piano Concerto No. 3 – Beethoven
• Choral Fantasy, Op. 80 (1808) – Beethoven
• Piano Sonata No. 8 (Pathétique) – Beethoven
• Piano Sonata No. 32 – Beethoven
• Piano Concerto No. 2 – Rachmaninoff
• Étude Op. 10, No. 12 (Revolutionary) – Chopin
• Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1 – Chopin

See also: List of symphonies in C minor

Notable songs

• "Could It Be Magic" by Barry Manilow
• "Fireflies" by Owl City
• "Judas" by Lady Gaga
• "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele
• "Skyfall" by Paul Epworth and Adele
• "Turn Me On" by David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj
• "Paparazzi" by Lady Gaga
• "Where Have You Been" by Rihanna
• "Jar of Hearts" by Christina Perri

External links

Media related to C minor at Wikimedia Commons