The Tone of If Bemol Minor

What Is If Minor Bemol

A tone is the «centre of gravity» of a work: a main note, the tonic, and a scale that is organized around it. In If bemol minor the tonic is Yeah.♭ and the scale is smaller, that is, with a third minor (if♭- Re♭) which gives it a darker color than that of the larger tonalities.

Share armor with Re bemol major, its relative tonality: the same notes, but with another center. And he shares tonic with If bemol major, his homonymous tonality, which has only two bemoles. Its enharmonic equivalent, the minor sustained, would need seven supports, so it is almost never used.

The armor

The armor carries five bemoles, which are always written in this order at the beginning of each pentagram:

• Yeah.♭ · My♭ · The♭ · Re♭ · Sun♭
• Trick to remember it: the bemoles advance through ascending quarters (Yes → My → The → Re → Sun), just the other way around that held them.

The three smaller scales

Like all minor tonality, if minor bemol can be touched in three ways. The difference is in notes 6 and 7:

• Natural: Yeah.♭ - Do - Re♭ - My♭ - Fa - Sol♭ - The♭ - Yeah.♭. It's exactly the notes of the armor.
• Harmonic: Yeah.♭ - Do - Re♭ - My♭ - Fa - Sol♭ - The♮ - Yeah.♭. The seventh is raised to create the «sensitive», the note that pulls towards the tonic. Between Sol♭ and♮ there is a second-increased jump, with a very characteristic taste.
• Melodic: as you go up, yes♭ - Do - Re♭ - My♭ - Fa... Sun♮ – The♮ - Yeah.♭; when you go down, you return to the natural scale. This is how you avoid that jump and the melody flows better.

On the score, the♮ (and sometimes the Sun♮) does not appear in the armor: it is written as an accidental alteration in front of the note. So, if you see five bemoles and a lot of bemoles in La, the most likely thing is that the work is in Si bemol minor and not in Re bemol major.

The main chords

• I · Tónica, Si♭ minor: Yeah.♭ - Re♭ - Fa. The point of rest.
• IV · Subdominant, Mi♭ minor: My♭ - Sun♭ - Yeah.♭. Get away from the tonic gently.
• V · Dominant, Major Fa: Fa - The♮ - Do.♮ of the harmonic scale is a greater chord, with strength to return to the tonic.
• V7 · Seventh dominant: Fa - The♮ - Do - Mi♭. The maximum voltage before solving.
• VI · Sun♭ greater: Sun♭ - Yeah.♭ - Re♭. It brings light into the darkness and stars the «broken cadence».
• III · Re♭ greater: Re♭ - Fa - La♭. It is the tonic of the relative major, the usual destination when a minor work wants «open».

Examples of progress

• Perfect chain (I - IV - V7 - I): Yeah.♭m → Mi♭m → Fa7 → Yes♭m. It is the formula that confirms the tonality; you will hear it at the end of almost any work in the minor bemol.
• Broken (V-VI): Fa7 → Sun♭. The ear is waiting.♭ a minor and receives an unexpected major chord: a very romantic surprise resource.
• Low of regret: Yeah.♭ - The♭ - Sun♭ - Fa in the bass, down by degrees. It is the classic gesture of duel and sadness, from the Baroque to today.
• Modulation to the relative: Yeah.♭m → The♭7 → Re♭. Enough with Re's dominant♭ to go into the light in the greatest way without changing armor.

Character

With five bemoles, on the piano the hand falls on many black keys, which gives a warm and veiled sound. In the 18th century the poet and musician Christian Schubart described this tone as gloomy, dissatisfied and associated with the night, and the Romantics often chose it for funeral, night or dramatic music. Today we know that with the temperate tuning all the tonalities sound equal to «tuned»but these associations continue to be part of the tradition and the way the composers choose them.

Works to listen to her

• Bach: Prelude and escape No. 22, BWV 867, of The well-tempered key, book I (1722). A five-voice, serious and solemn escape.
• Chopin: Nocturno op. 9 ° 1 (1830-1832). A cantabile melody on an undulating accompaniment: the tonality in its most intimate version.
• Chopin: Scherzo No. 2 op. 31 (1837). It starts in If bemol minor and ends in Re bemol major, a perfect example of the step to the relative.
• Chopin: Sonata para piano n.º 2 op. 35 (1839), con la célebre Marcha fúnebre como tercer movimiento.
• Chaikovski: Concierto para piano n.º 1 op. 23 (1874–1875). Curiosamente, su famosa introducción suena en Re bemol mayor, la relativa, antes de asentarse en Si bemol menor.
• Rachmaninoff: Sonata para piano n.º 2 op. 36 (1913, revisada en 1931).
• Shostakóvich: Sinfonía n.º 13, «Babi Yar» (1962).