B-flat major

B-flat major is a major scale based on B-flat, consisting of the pitches B-flat, C, D, E-flat, F, G, A, and B-flat. Its key signature consists of two flats.

Related Topics:
Major scale - Key signature

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Its relative minor are G minor, and its parallel minor is B-flat minor.

Related Topics:
Relative minor - G minor - Parallel minor - B-flat minor

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B-flat major is a suitable key for most wind instruments, especially those for which it is their home key, such as clarinets in B-flat and trumpets in B-flat.

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Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 98 in B-flat major is the first Symphony he wrote in that key in which he included trumpet and timpani parts.

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The Star Spangled Banner, Lionel Newman's 20th Century Fox Fanfare and John Williams's Star Wars Main Theme are all in B-flat major, though often available in sheet music in other keys.

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In prose, this key is preferrably written as B♭ major, but when text is limited to the ASCII character set and brevity is required, "Bb major" will do.

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Note that in German, the pitch B-flat is called "B", and correspondingly, B-flat major is called "B-Dur" (B-natural, in German notation, is "H").

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