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B-flat major

Relative key	G minor
Parallel key	B-flat minor
Dominant key	F major
Subdominant	E-flat major
Component pitches
B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G, A

B-flat major is a major scale based on B♭, with pitches B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative minor is G minor and its parallel minor is B-flat minor.

The B-flat major scale is:

Many transposing instruments are pitched in B-flat major, including the clarinet, trumpet, tenor saxophone, and soprano saxophone. As a result, B-flat major is one of the most popular keys for concert band compositions.

Scale degree chords

The scale degree chords of B-flat major are:

• Tonic – B-flat major
• Supertonic – C minor
• Mediant – D minor
• Subdominant – E-flat major
• Dominant – F major
• Submediant – G minor
• Leading-tone – A diminished

History

Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 98 is often credited as the first symphony written in that key, including trumpet and timpani parts. However, his brother Michael Haydn wrote one such symphony earlier, No. 36. Nonetheless, Joseph Haydn still gets credit for writing the timpani part at actual pitch with an F major key signature (instead of transposing with a C major key signature), a procedure that made sense since he limited that instrument to the tonic and dominant pitches. Many editions of the work use no key signature and specify the instrument as "Timpani in B♭–F".

Notable classical compositions

• François Couperin
  • Les Barricades Mystérieuses
• Johann Sebastian Bach
  • Brandenburg Concerto No. 6
• Luigi Boccherini
  • Cello Concerto No. 9, G. 482
• Joseph Haydn
  • Symphony No. 85 (La Reine)
  • Symphony No. 98
  • Symphony No. 102
  • Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Cello, Oboe and Bassoon
  • String Quartet Op. 76 No. 4 (Sunrise)
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  • Symphony No. 2
  • Symphony No. 5
  • Symphony No. 24
  • Symphony No. 33
  • Piano Concerto No. 6
  • Piano Concerto No. 15
  • Piano Concerto No. 18
  • Piano Concerto No. 27
  • String Quintet No. 1
  • String Quartet No. 17 (Hunt)
  • Violin Sonata No. 32
  • Piano Sonata No. 3
  • Piano Sonata No. 13 (Linz)
  • Piano Sonata No. 17
• Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Piano Concerto No. 2
  • Symphony No. 4
  • String Quartet No. 6
  • String Quartet No. 13
  • Große Fuge
  • Piano Sonata No. 11
  • Piano Sonata No. 29 (Hammerklavier)
  • Piano Trio No. 7 (Archduke)
• Franz Schubert
  • Impromptu No. 3, Op. 142
  • Mass No. 3
  • Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, D. 965
  • Piano Sonata No. 21, D. 960
  • Piano Trio No. 1, D. 898
  • Symphony No. 2
  • Symphony No. 5
• Felix Mendelssohn
  • Symphony No. 2 (Lobgesang)
  • String Quintet No. 2
  • Cello Sonata No. 1
• Frédéric Chopin
  • Variations on "Là ci darem la mano" for piano and orchestra, Op. 2
  • Mazurka Op. 7, No. 1
  • Prelude Op. 28, No. 21 "Sunday"
  • Polonaise Op. 71, No. 2
• Robert Schumann
  • Symphony No. 1, Op. 38, (Frühling)
  • The second, fourth and sixth movement of Kreisleriana, Op. 16
  • Humoreske for piano, Op. 20
  • Faschingsschwank aus Wien for piano, Op. 26
• Franz Liszt
  • Transcendental Étude No. 5 (Feux follets) from Transcendental Études
• Anton Bruckner
  • Symphony No. 5
• Johannes Brahms
  • Piano Concerto No. 2
  • String Quartet No. 3
  • String Sextet No. 1
  • Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel
  • Variations on a Theme by Haydn
• Bohuslav Martinů
  • Symphony no. 1
• Sergei Prokofiev
  • Symphony No. 5
  • Piano Concerto No. 4
  • Piano Sonata No. 7
  • Piano Sonata No. 8
• Dmitri Shostakovich
  • String Quartet No. 5
• Modest Mussorgsky
  • "Promenade" from Pictures at an Exhibition
• Ottorino Respighi
  • "The Pines of the Villa Borghese" from Pines of Rome

References

1. H. C. Robbins Landon, Haydn Symphonies, London: British Broadcasting Corporation (1966): 57

External links

• Media related to B-flat major at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Diatonic scales and keys
No. Flats Sharps Major minor Major minor 0 C a 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♯ 8 F♭ d♭ G♯ e♯ The table indicates the number of sharps or flats in each scale. Minor scales are written in lower case.

• Musical keys
• Major scales
• Compositions in B-flat major