G minor is a minor scale based on G.

G minor
Relative key B major
Parallel key G major
Dominant key
Subdominant
Notes in this scale
G, A, B, C, D, E, F, G

Its relative major is B-flat major. G minor is one of two flat key signatures that needs a sharp for the seventh note (the other is D minor).

During the Baroque period, music in G minor was usually written with a one-flat key signature.

Mozart's use of G Minor

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart thought that G minor was the most suitable key for showing sadness and tragedy,[1] and many of his minor key works are in G minor, such as the Piano Quartet No. 1 and the String Quintet in G minor. G minor is the only minor key he used as a main key for his numbered symphonies (No. 25, and the famous No. 40). In the Classical period, symphonies in G minor almost always used four horns, two in G and two in B-flat alto.[2] G minor symphonies like Mozart's No. 25 often used E flat major for the slow movement, including Haydn's No. 39 and Vanhal's G minor symphony from before 1771 (Bryan Gm1).[3]

Famous classical music in G minor

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See also: List of symphonies in G minor.

Variations

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There are many variations of G minor.

Variation Description
G minor 7th a g minor chord containing G, Bb/A#, D, and F
G minor major 7th a G minor chord with a Major 7th.
G minor major a combination of G minor and G major.
G minor 6th a G minor chord with a Major 6th.
G minor 9th G minor 7th containing A.
G minor 2nd a G minor with Ab or G#.
G augmented minor the augmented version of G minor.
G diminished has C#/Db instead of D.
G minor 7th-5 G diminished with minor 7th.
G diminished 7th a G diminished with a major 6th.

References

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  1. Hellmut Federhofer, foreword to the Bärenreiter Urtext of Mozart's Piano Quartet in G minor. "G-Moll war für Mozart zeitlebens die Schicksaltonart, die ihm für den Ausdruck des Schmerzes und der Tragik am geeignetsten erschien." ("G minor was, for Mozart, the most suitable fate-key throughout his life for the expression of pain and tragedy.")(
  2. H. C. Robbins Landon, Mozart and Vienna. New York: Schirmer Books (1991): 48. "Writing for four horns was a regular part of the Sturm und Drang G minor equipment." Robbins Landon also notes that Mozart's No. 40 was first intended to have four horns.
  3. James Hepokoski og Warren Darcy, Elements of Sonata Theory (Oxford University Press: 2006) p. 328
  4. "يا ليل يا ليل مليان حكايات يا ليل". YouTube. January 17, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  5. "في حب بيجي في لحظة وفي حب نهايته ملاحظة.. أغنية يا ليل من مسلسل #الآنسة_فرح". YouTube. July 19, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  6. "يا ليل يا ليل ملايين حكايات يا ليل يا ما عشنا فيها الفرحه و يما دقنا فيها الويل". YouTube. October 25, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
  7. "Ya Liel". youtube.com. 2024-01-31. Retrieved 2025-01-01.