G minor

G minor

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

G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B♭, C, D, E♭, and F. For the harmonic minor scale, the F is raised to F♯. Its relative major is B-flat major, and its parallel major is G major.

Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. G minor is one of two flat key signatures that requires a sharp for the leading tone (the other is D minor).

During the Baroque period music in G minor was usually written with a one-flat key signature^{[citation needed]}, and some modern editions of that repertoire retain that convention.

Mozart's use of G minor

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart considered G minor the key most suitable for expressing sadness and tragedy, and many of his minor key works are in G minor, such as the Piano Quartet No. 1 and the String Quintet in G minor. Though Mozart touched on various minor keys in his symphonies, G minor is the only minor key he used as a main key for his numbered symphonies (No. 25, and the famous No. 40). In the Classical period, symphonies in G minor almost always used four horns, two in G and two in B-flat alto. Another convention of G minor symphonies observed in Mozart's No. 25 was the choice of E flat major for the slow movement, with other examples including Haydn's No. 39 and Vanhal's G minor symphony from before 1771 (Bryan Gm1).

Well-known works in G minor

• Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001 – Bach
• Fantasia and Fugue in G minor "The Great", BWV 542 – Bach
• Symphony No. 83 "The Hen" – Haydn
• Symphony No. 40 – Mozart
• Ballade No. 1 in G minor – Chopin
• Polonaise in G minor – Chopin
• Piano Concerto No. 1 - Mendelssohn
• Piano Concerto No. 2 – Saint-Saëns
• Slavonic Dance No. 8 in G minor – Dvořák
• Sicilienne, Op. 78 – Fauré
• Prelude in G Minor – Rachmaninoff
• Sonata for Cello and Piano in G minor – Rachmaninoff
• Much of Verdi's Requiem, specifically the Dies Irae, is in G minor.
• Much of Oxygène (parts I, II, IV and VI) by Jean Michel Jarre is in G minor.
• Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 8, RV 315, "Summer" from The Four Seasons – Antonio Vivaldi
• Adagio in G minor – "Albinoni's Adagio", now attributed to Remo Giazotto
• Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26 – Max Bruch
• Christmas Concerto – Arcangelo Corelli
• Carol of the Bells – Mykola Leontovych
• Hungarian Dance No. 5 - Johannes Brahms

See also: List of symphonies in G minor.

List of Notable Songs in G minor

• The Bee Gees - You Should Be Dancing
• Deep Purple - Smoke On The Water
• Deep Purple - Highway Star
• Dire Straits - Money For Nothing
• The Gregory Brothers - Bed Intruder Song
• Fleetwood Mac - I'm So Afraid
• Fleetwood Mac - You Make Loving Fun
• Rihanna ft. Eminem - Love The Way You Lie
• Steely Dan - Do It Again
• Tears For Fears - Shout