| Relative key | E minor |
|---|---|
| Parallel key | G minor |
| Dominant key | D major |
| Subdominant key | C major |
| Component pitches | |
| G, A, B, C, D, E, F♯ | |
G major is amajor scale based onG, with the pitches G,A,B,C,D,E, andF♯. Itskey signature has onesharp. Itsrelative minor isE minor and itsparallel minor isG minor.
The G major scale is:
Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The Gharmonic major andmelodic major scales are:
Thescale degree chords of G major are:
InBaroque music, G major was regarded as the "key ofbenediction".[1]
OfDomenico Scarlatti's 555 keyboard sonatas, G major is the home key for 69, or about 12.4%, sonatas.
In the music ofJohann Sebastian Bach, "G major is often a key of6
8 chain rhythms", according toAlfred Einstein,[2] although Bach also used the key for some4
4-based works, including histhird andfourthBrandenburg Concertos. PianistJeremy Denk observes that theGoldberg Variations are 80 minutes in G major.[3]
Twelve ofJoseph Haydn's 106 symphonies are in G major. Likewise, one of Haydn's most famous piano trios,No. 39 (with theGypsy Rondo), and one of his last two complete publishedstring quartets (Op. 77, No. 1), are in G major.
In addition, G major is the home key of Mozart'sEine kleine Nachtmusik, serving as the tonic for three of its four movements (the only exception being the second movement, titledRomanze which is in the subdominant key ofC major). However, almost none of his large-scale works such as his symphonies or concertos are in this key; exceptions are theViolin Concerto No. 3,Piano Concerto No. 17,Flute Concerto No. 1 and hisString Quartet No. 14, along with some examples among hisjuvenilia.
ForLudwig van Beethoven, G major was a key for optimism and cheerful energy.[citation needed] He regularly used this key, for instance in his Piano SonatasNo. 10,No. 16,No. 20 andNo. 25,Rondo for piano, Op. 51,Rage Over a Lost Penny, Violin sonatasNo. 8 andNo. 10,String Trio No. 2,String Quartet No. 2,Piano Trio No. 2,Romance for violin and orchestra, Op. 40 andPiano Concerto No. 4.
Franz Schubert rarely used the key of G major, although a few important compositions are written in this key, includingMass No. 2 D 167,String Quartet No. 15 D 887 andPiano Sonata op. 78 D 894.
The Romantic composers often used keys distant from G major. Composers likeRobert Schumann,Felix Mendelssohn,César Franck,Max Bruch,Anton Bruckner,Modest Mussorgsky,Alexander Borodin,César Cui andSergei Rachmaninoff only used this key in a few small-scale or miscellaneous compositions, or even avoided it completely. Nonetheless, some important Romantic music was written in G major.
Harold en Italie, a symphony with a solo viola part byHector Berlioz, is in G major.Frédéric Chopin'sPrelude Op. 28/3, hisNocturne Op. 37/2 and hisMazurka Op. 50/1 are in this key as well.
It is also the key of three major chamber music compositions byJohannes Brahms:String Sextet No. 2 Op. 36,Violin Sonata No. 1 Op. 78 andString Quintet No. 2 Op. 111.Antonín Dvořák wrote four important pieces in G major:String Quintet No. 2, Op. 77,Symphony No. 8 Op. 88,Sonatina for Violin and Piano Op. 100, which he wrote for his children, andString Quartet No. 13, Op. 106.
TheViolin Sonata No. 2 Op. 13 byEdvard Grieg is in G major.
Camille Saint-Saëns chose G major as the key for his String Quartet No. 2 and hisSonata for Bassoon and Piano.Gabriel Fauré only wrote one major composition in this key: his second Barcarolle for Piano, Op. 41.
The three major compositions in G major ofPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky are hisPiano Concerto No. 2 Op. 44 and his orchestral suitesNo. 3, Op. 55 andNo. 4 "Mozartiana" Op. 61. Three Préludes for Piano (Op. 11/3, Op. 13/3 and Op. 39/3) byAlexander Scriabin are in G major, as well as the Mazurka for orchestra op. 18, the String Quartet No. 3 Op. 26 and the Oriental Rhapsody for orchestra Op. 29 byAlexander Glazunov.
Gustav Mahler'sSymphony No. 4 andRichard Strauss'stone poemAus Italien Op. 16, are in G major.
It's the key for the opening 'Sinfonia' ofIgor Stravinsky'sPulcinella suite, and for thePiano Concerto for two hands and theViolin Sonata No. 2 byMaurice Ravel. The fifth sonata of theSix Sonatas for solo violin byEugène Ysaÿe is also in G major.
Sergei Prokofiev wrote hisPiano Concerto No. 5 Op. 55 in this key, andDmitri Shostakovich chose it for hisCello Concerto No. 2 Op. 126 and hisString Quartet No. 6 Op. 101.
G major is the key stipulated for the royal anthem of Canada, "God Save the King".[4] The anthem "God Defend New Zealand" ("Aotearoa") was originally composed byJohn Joseph Woods inA-flat major, but after becoming New Zealand's national anthem in 1977, it was rearranged into G major to better suit general and massed singing.[5] According toSpotify, G major is the most common key of music on the streaming service (closely followed by C major).[6]
Media related toG major at Wikimedia Commons
