B-flat minor
| Relative key | D-flat major | 
|---|---|
| Parallel key | B-flat major | 
| Dominant key | F minor | 
| Subdominant key | E-flat minor | 
| Enharmonic key | A-sharp minor | 
| Component pitches | |
| B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭, A♭ | |
B-flat minor is a minor scale based on B♭, consisting of the pitches B♭, C, D♭, E♭, F, G♭, and A♭. Its key signature has five flats. Its relative major is D-flat major and its parallel major is B-flat major. Its enharmonic equivalent, A-sharp minor, which would contain seven sharps, is not normally used.
The B-flat natural minor scale is:

Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The B-flat harmonic minor and melodic minor scales are:


Scale degree chords
The scale degree chords of B-flat minor are:
- Tonic – B-flat minor
 - Supertonic – C diminished
 - Mediant – D-flat major
 - Subdominant – E-flat minor
 - Dominant – F minor
 - Submediant – G-flat major
 - Subtonic – A-flat major
 
Characteristics
B-flat minor is traditionally a 'dark' key.[1]
The old valveless horn was barely capable of playing in B-flat minor: the only example found in 18th-century music is a modulation that occurs in the first minuet of Franz Krommer's Concertino in D major, Op. 80.[2]
Notable classical compositions
- Charles-Valentin Alkan 
- Prelude Op. 31, No. 12 (Le temps qui n'est plus)
 - Symphony for Solo Piano, 3rd movement: Menuet
 
 - Samuel Barber
 - Frédéric Chopin
 - Franz Liszt 
- Transcendental Étude No. 12 (Chasse-neige) from Transcendental Études
 
 - Sergei Rachmaninoff 
- Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 36
 
 - Dmitri Shostakovich 
- Symphony No. 13, Op. 113 ("Babi Yar")
 - String Quartet No. 13, Op. 138
 
 - Richard Strauss 
- An Alpine Symphony begins and ends in B-flat minor.
 
 - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
 - William Walton
 
References
- ^ Wilfrid Mellers, "Round and About in Górecki's Symphony No. 3" Tempo 168 3 (1989): 23
 - ^ J. Murray Barbour, Trumpets, Horns, and Music (1964), p. 163
 - ^ Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 35 (Chopin): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
 - ^ Nocturnes, Op. 9 (Chopin): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
 - ^ Scherzo No. 2, Op. 31 (Chopin): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
 - ^ Preludes, Op.28 (Chopin): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
 - ^ Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 23 (Tchaikovsky): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
 
External links
 Media related to B-flat minor at Wikimedia Commons

