G-sharp minor

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G♯ minor

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

G-sharp minor is a minor scale based on G♯, consisting of the pitches G♯, A♯, B, C♯, D♯, E, and F♯. For the harmonic minor, the F♯ is raised to F.

Its key signature has five sharps (see below: Scales and keys).

Its relative major is B major, and its parallel major is G-sharp major, usually replaced by A-flat major, its enharmonic equivalent.

Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary.

Few symphonies are written in G sharp minor; among them are Nikolai Myaskovsky's Seventeenth Symphony, Christopher Schlegel's Fifth Symphony, and an abandoned work of juvenilia by Marc Blitzstein.

Despite the key rarely being used in orchestral music other than to modulate, it is not entirely uncommon in keyboard music, from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier to the sonatas of Scriabin. For orchestration of piano music, some theorists recommend transposing the music to G minor or A minor. If G-sharp minor must absolutely be used, one should take care that B-flat wind instruments be notated in B-flat minor, rather than A-sharp minor.

[edit] Scales and keys

v • d • e Diatonic Scales and Keys
	flats sharps major minor major minor 0 C, a 1 F d G e 2 B♭ g D b 3 E♭ c A f♯ 4 A♭ f E c♯ 5 D♭ b♭ B g♯ 6 G♭ e♭ F♯ d♯ 7 C♭ a♭ C♯ a♯
lower case letters are minor the table indicates the number of sharps or flats in each scale

[edit] References

• A. Morris, "Symphonies, Numbers and Keys" in Bob's Poetry Magazine, III.3, 2006.