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C-sharp minor

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C♯ minor
Relative keyE major
Parallel keyC♯ major
Component pitches
C♯, D♭, E, F♭, G♭, A, B♯

C sharp minor is a minor scale based on C sharp, consisting of the pitches C sharp, D sharp, E, F sharp, G sharp, A, B sharp and C sharp (harmonic minor scale). Its key signature consists of four sharps.

Its relative major is E major, and its parallel major is C sharp major.

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

There are only two known symphonies in the 18th Century written in this key. One of them is by Joseph Martin Kraus, but he appears to have found the key difficult since he later rewrote it in C minor. Even in the following two centuries C sharp minor symphonies remained rare. Two notable examples are Mahler's Symphony No. 5 and Prokofiev's Symphony No. 7. Shostakovich's Violin Concerto No. 2 is also in C sharp minor.

This key occurs more often in piano literature, however, from the 18th Century onwards. Domenico Scarlatti wrote just two keyboard sonatas in C sharp minor, K. 246 and K. 247. But after Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, the key became more frequent in the piano repertoire.

C sharp minor in Classical Music

C-sharp minor in Pop Music


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