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A-sharp minor

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A-sharp minor
Relative keyC-sharp major
enharmonic: D-flat major
Parallel keyA-sharp major
enharmonic: B-flat major
Dominant keyE-sharp minor
enharmonic: F minor
SubdominantD-sharp minor
enharmonic: E-flat minor
EnharmonicB-flat minor
Component pitches
A♯, B♯, C♯, D♯, E♯, F♯, G♯

A-sharp minor is a minor scale based on A, consisting of the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has seven sharps, while the direct enharmonic equivalent, B-flat minor, has five flats.

Its relative major is C-sharp major (or enharmonically D-flat major), and its parallel major is A-sharp major, usually replaced by B-flat major, since A-sharp major's three double-sharps make it impractical to use.

The A-sharp natural minor scale is:

 {
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c'' {
  \clef treble \key ais \minor \time 7/4
  ais4^\markup "Natural minor scale" bis cis dis eis fis gis ais gis fis eis dis cis bis ais2
} }

Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The A-sharp harmonic minor and melodic minor scales are:

 {
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c'' {
  \clef treble \key ais \minor \time 7/4
  ais4^\markup "Harmonic minor scale" bis cis dis eis fis gisis ais gisis fis eis dis cis bis ais2
} }
 {
\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f
\relative c'' {
  \clef treble \key ais \minor \time 7/4
  ais4^\markup "Melodic minor scale (ascending and descending)" bis cis dis eis fisis gisis ais gis! fis! eis dis cis bis ais2
} }

In Rinck's 30 Preludes and Exercises in all major and minor keys, the 16th Prelude and Exercise is in A-sharp minor. In Bach's Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp major, a brief section near the beginning of the piece modulates to A-sharp minor. A-sharp minor is one of the least used minor keys in music as it is not a practical key for composition. The enharmonic equivalent B-flat minor, which only contains five flats as opposed to A-sharp minor's seven sharps, is preferable to use.