G-flat major

See also: F-sharp major

G♭ major

Relative key	E♭ minor enharmonic: D♯ minor
Parallel key	G♭ minor enharmonic: F♯ minor
Enharmonic	F♯ major
Component pitches
G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭, F, G♭

G-flat major is a major scale based on G-flat, consisting of the pitches G♭, A♭, B♭, C♭, D♭, E♭, and F. Its key signature has six flats (see below: Scales and keys).

Its relative minor is E-flat minor. Its parallel minor is G-flat minor, usually replaced by F-sharp minor, since G-flat minor, which would have nine flats, is not normally used.

Its enharmonic equivalent is F-sharp major, whose key signature also has six accidentals. In writing music in E major for B-flat instruments, it is preferable to use a G-flat rather than an F-sharp key signature.

Ascending and descending G-flat major scale.

Rarely chosen as the main key for orchestral works, G-flat major is more often used as a main key for piano works, such as the impromptus of Chopin and Schubert. It is the predominant key of Maurice Ravel's Introduction and Allegro for harp, flute, clarinet and string quartet.

A striking use of G-flat major can be found in the love duet "Tu l'as dit" that concludes the fourth act of Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera Les Huguenots.

Austrian composer Gustav Mahler was fond of using G-flat major in key passages of his symphonies; examples include: The choral entry during the finale of his Second Symphony, during the first movement of his Third Symphony, the modulatory section of the Adagietto from his Fifth Symphony, and during the Rondo-Finale of his Seventh Symphony. Mahler's Tenth Symphony was composed in the enharmonic key of F sharp major. In more modern usage, the key can be found in Lisa Miskovsky's song Still Alive, from the soundtrack to the videogame Mirror's Edge. The Polish composer Frédéric Chopin wrote two etudes in the key of G-flat Major: Étude Op. 10, No. 5 "Black Key" and Étude Op. 25, No. 9 "Butterfly".