Parallel key B♭ minor Subdominant E♭ major | ||
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In music theory, B♭ (B-flat) major is a major scale based on B♭. The pitches B♭, C, D, E♭, F, G, and A are all part of the B♭ major scale. Its key signature has two flats.
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B♭ major's relative minor is G minor, and its parallel minor is B♭ minor.
Many transposing instruments are pitched in B-flat major, including the clarinet, trumpet, tenor saxophone, and soprano saxophone. As a result, B-flat major is a popular key for concert band compositions.
In Nordic, Baltic, Western and Southern Slavic (except Bulgarian) languages, Hungarian, German and most Central and Northern European languages, the pitch B is called "H" while B♭ is called "B".
History
Joseph Haydn's Symphony No. 98 is credited as the first symphony he (or anyone else) wrote in that key in which he included trumpet and timpani parts. Actually, his brother Michael Haydn had written one such symphony earlier, No. 36, though Joseph Haydn still gets credit for writing the timpani part at actual pitch with an F major key signature (instead of transposing with a C major key signature), a procedure that made sense since he limited that instrument to the tonic and dominant pitches. Many editions of the work, however, use no key signature and specify the instrument as "Timpani in B-flat–F".
Five of Mozart's piano concertos are in B-flat major.