C-sharp minor: Difference between revisions

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{{more citations needed|date=May 2025}}

{{short description|Tonality}}

{{short description|Minor key and scale based on C-sharp}}

{{Infobox musical scale

| name = C-sharp minor<br><score>{ \new Staff \with{ \magnifyStaff #3/2 } << \time 2/16 \overrideomit Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f { \clef treble \key cis \minor s16 \clef bassF \key cis \minor s16 } >>s^"" }</score>

| relative = [[E major]]

| parallel = [[C-sharp major]]

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The C-sharp [[natural minor scale]] is:

:{{block indent|<score sound="1"> {raw>

\header { tagline = ##f }

\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f

scale = \relative b { \key cis \minor \omit Score.TimeSignature

\relative c' {

\clef treble \key cis \minor \time 7/4 cis4^\markup"C♯ "Naturalnatural minor scale" dis e fis gis a b cis b a gis fis e dis cis2 \clef F \key cis \minor }

\score { { << \cadenzaOn \scale \context NoteNames \scale >> } \layout { } \midi { } }

\clef bass \key cis \minor

</score>}}

} }

</score>

Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The C-sharp [[Harmonic minor scale|harmonic minor]] and [[melodic minor scale]]s are:

:{{block indent|<score sound="1"> {raw>

\header { tagline = ##f }

\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f

scale = \relative b { \key cis \minor \omit Score.TimeSignature

\relative c' {

cis^"C♯ harmonic minor scale" dis e fis gis a bis cis bis! a gis fis e dis cis2 \clef trebleF \key cis \minor \time 7/4}

\score { { << \cadenzaOn \scale \context NoteNames \scale >> } \layout { } \midi { } }

cis4^\markup "Harmonic minor scale" dis e fis gis a bis cis bis a gis fis e dis cis2

</score>}}

} }

{{block indent|</score sound raw>

\header { tagline = ##f }

scale = \relative b { \key cis \minor \omit Score.TimeSignature

cis4cis^\markup "HarmonicC♯ melodic minor scale" dis e fis gis aais bis cis bisb? a? gis fis e dis cis2 \clef F \key cis \minor }

\score { { << \cadenzaOn \scale \context NoteNames \scale >> } \layout { } \midi { } }

</score>}}

Its [[relative key|relative major]] is [[E major]]. Its [[parallel key|parallel major]], [[C-sharp major]], is usually written instead as the enharmonic key of [[D-flat major]], since C-sharp major’s key signature with seven sharps is not normally used. Its enharmonic equivalent, [[D-flat minor]], having eight flats, including the B{{music|doubleflat}}, has a similar problem. Therefore, C-sharp minor is often used as the parallel minor for D-flat major. (The same enharmonic situation occurs with the keys of [[A-flat major]] and [[G-sharp minor]], and in some cases, with the keys of [[G-flat major]] and [[F-sharp minor]].)

:<score sound="1"> {

\override Score.TimeSignature #'stencil = ##f

\relative c' {

\clef treble \key cis \minor \time 7/4

cis4^\markup "Melodic minor scale (ascending and descending)" dis e fis gis ais bis cis b! a! gis fis e dis cis2

} }

</score>

==Scale degree chords==

Its [[relative key|relative major]] is [[E major]]. Its [[parallel key|parallel major]], [[C-sharp major]], is usually written instead as the enharmonic key of [[D-flat major]], since C-sharp major’s key signature with seven sharps is not normally used. Its enharmonic equivalent, [[D-flat minor]], having eight flats, including the B{{music|doubleflat}}, has a similar problem. Therefore, C-sharp minor is often used as the parallel minor for D-flat major. (The same enharmonic situation occurs with the keys of [[A-flat major]] and [[G-sharp minor]].)

The [[scale degree]] chords of C-sharp minor are:

* [[Tonic (music)|Tonic]] – C-sharp minor

* [[Supertonic]] – [[Diminished triad|D-sharp diminished]]

* [[Mediant]] – [[E major]]

* [[Subdominant]] – [[F-sharp minor]]

* [[Dominant (music)|Dominant]] – [[G-sharp minor]]

* [[Submediant]] – [[A major]]

* [[Subtonic]] – [[B major]]

==Classical music in this key==

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There are only two known symphonies in the 18th century written in this key. One of them is by [[Joseph Martin Kraus]], who appears to have found the key difficult since he later rewrote it in [[C minor]]. In the following two centuries, C-sharp minor symphonies remained rare. Notable examples are the second movement Adagio of [[Anton Bruckner]]'s [[Symphony No. 7 (Bruckner)|Symphony No. 7]], the first movement of [[Gustav Mahler]]'s [[Symphony No. 5 (Mahler)|Symphony No. 5]]<ref>Constantin Floros, translated by Vernon Wicker: ''Gustav Mahler: The Symphonies'' (Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press, 1985) p. 141 "the choice of key of the movements (C-sharp minor – A minor – D major – F major – D major);" - however, Mahler did not apply any key to the 5th symphony as a whole</ref> and [[Sergei Prokofiev|Prokofiev]]'s [[Symphony No. 7 (Prokofiev)|Symphony No. 7]].

This key occurs more often in piano literature from the 18th century onwards. [[Domenico Scarlatti]] wrote just two keyboard sonatas in C-sharp minor, K. 246 and K. 247. After [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s [[Piano Sonata No. 14 (Beethoven)|Piano Sonata No. 14]] (''Moonlight Sonata''), the key became more frequent in the piano repertoire. Beethoven himself used this key again in the outer movements of his [[String Quartet No. 14 (Beethoven)|String Quartet No. 14]] (Op. 131, 1826). Even so, [[Johannes Brahms]] still felt the need to rewrite his C-sharp minor piano quartet in C minor, which was published as [[Piano Quartet No. 3 (Brahms)|Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60]].{{citation needed|date=March 2020}} The last intermezzo from his [[Three Intermezzi for piano, Op. 117 (Brahms)|Three Intermezzi for piano, Op. 117]] is in C-sharp minor.

[[Charles-Valentin Alkan|Alkan]] composed the second movement (Adagio) for [[Concerto for Solo Piano (Alkan)|Concerto for Solo Piano]] in C-sharp minor.

[[Frédéric Chopin]] often wrote in this key: examples include the [[Fantaisie-Impromptu]], [[Études (Chopin)|Études]] [[Étude Op. 10, No. 4 (Chopin)|Op. 10, No. 4]] and [[Étude Op. 25, No. 7 (Chopin)|Op. 25, No. 7]], [[Scherzo No. 3 (Chopin)|Scherzo No. 3 (Op. 39)]], [[Waltz in C-sharp minor, Op. 64, No. 2 (Chopin)|Waltz Op. 64, No. 2]], [[Polonaises, Op. 26 (Chopin)|Polonaise Op. 26 No. 1]], the [[Preludes (Chopin)|Prelude opus 45]] and Nocturnes [[Nocturnes, Op. 27 (Chopin)|No. 7 (Op. 27, No. 1)]] and [[Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. posth. (Chopin)|No. 20 (''Lento con gran espressione'')]]. More examples of works in C-sharp minor include [[Sergei Rachmaninoff|Rachmaninoff's]] [[Prelude in C-sharp minor (Rachmaninoff)|Prelude in C-sharp minor (Op. 3, No. 2)]], [[Alexander Scriabin|Scriabin's]] [[Étude in C-sharp minor, Op. 2, No. 1 (Scriabin)|Étude in C-sharp minor, Op. 2, No. 1]], [[Franz Liszt|Franz Liszt's]] [[Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2]], and [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky's]] [[Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor (Tchaikovsky)|Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor]].

Piano concertos written in C-sharp minor include [[Francis Poulenc|Poulenc]]'s [[Piano Concerto (Poulenc)|Piano Concerto in C-sharp minor, FP 146]] (1949), [[Erich Wolfgang Korngold]]'s [[Piano Concerto for the Left Hand (Korngold)|Piano Concerto for the Left Hand]], Op. 17, [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]]'s [[Piano Concerto (Rimsky-Korsakov)|Piano Concerto]], and others by [[Ferdinand Ries]], [[Xaver Scharwenka]], [[Amy Beach]], [[Miriam Hyde]] and [[Issay Dobrowen]].

[[DmitriFranz ShostakovichBerwald]]'s and [[Violin Concerto No. 2 (Shostakovich)|ViolinDimitri ConcertoShostakovich]] No.wrote 2]]violin isconcertos in C-sharp minor.

[[Jules Van Nuffel]] wrote his psalm setting {{lang|la|[[In convertendo Dominus (Nuffel)|In convertendo Dominus]]}} for choir and organ in C-sharp minor.

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==Notable songs==

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== See also ==

* [[Key (music)]]

* [[Major and minor]]

* [[Chord (music)]]

* [[Chord notation]]

* [[D flat minor]]

== References ==