A minor

Infobox Scale


scale_name=A minor
relative=C major
parallel=A major
first_pitch=A
second_pitch=B
third_pitch=C
fourth_pitch=D
fifth_pitch=E
sixth_pitch=F
seventh_pitch=G

A minor (abbreviated Am) is a minor scale based on A, consisting of the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. The harmonic minor scale raises the G to Gmusic|sharp. Its key signature has no flats or sharps ("see below:" Scales and keys).

Its relative major is C major, and its parallel major is A major.

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

Johann Joachim Quantz considered A minor, along with C minor, much more suitable for expressing "the sad effect" than other minor keys ("Versuch einer Anweisung die Flöte traversiere zu spielen").

Whereas traditionally key signatures were cancelled whenever the new key signature had fewer sharps or flats than the old key signature, in modern popular and commercial music, cancellation is only done when C major or A minor replaces another key. [Matthew Nicholl & Richard Grudzinski, "Music Notation: Preparing Scores and Parts", ed. Jonathan Feist. Boston: Berklee Press (2007): 56. "In popular and commercial music, the old key signature is cancelled only if the new key is C major or A minor."]

Well-known classical compositions in this key

*"Bagatelle in A minor "Für Elise"" - Ludwig van Beethoven
*"Violin Concerto in A minor" - Johann Sebastian Bach
*" Piano Sonata in A minor, K. 310" - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
* Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54 - Robert Schumann
* Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 16 - Edvard Grieg
*Caprice No. 24 (Paganini) - Niccolo Paganini
* Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35 - Johannes Brahms
*Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini - Sergei RachmaninoffSee also: List of symphonies in A minor

Well-known contemporary music in this key

*"Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" - Van Halen
*"Bailamos" - Enrique Iglesias
*"Can't Get You Out of My Head" - Kylie Minogue
*"Devil's Party" - INXS
*"Mr. Jones" - Counting Crows
*"Save Tonight" - Eagle Eye Cherry
*"Don't Tell Me" - Madonna
*"Holding Out For A Hero" - Bonnie Tyler
*"Here Comes The Rain Again" - Eurythmics
*"Losing My Religion" - R.E.M.
*"Love Is the Drug" - Roxy Music
*"Shock Me" - Kiss
*"Smooth Criminal" - Michael Jackson
*"Money, Money, Money" - ABBA (also in B-flat minor)
*"Another Sad Love Song" - Toni Braxton (also in B-flat minor)
*"Who's Crying Now" - Journey
*"Wrapped Around Your Finger" - The Police
*"Stairway to Heaven" - Led Zeppelin
*"Tribute" - Tenacious D
*"Otherside" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
*"Californication" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
*"Angie" - Rolling Stones
*"Rainbow in the Dark" - Dio
*"Love Is Blue" - Paul Mauriat This one begins and ends in A-minor, but has a middle section in A-major (the parallel major key).
*"2 Minutes to Midnight" - Iron Maiden

References

Scales and keys