View source for E-flat minor

{{See also|D-sharp minor}}
{{Infobox Scale
|  image_name=G-flat_Major_key_signature.png
|  scale_name=E{{music|flat}} minor
|  relative=[[G-flat major|G{{music|flat}} major]]
|  parallel=[[E-flat major|E{{music|flat}} major]]
|  enharmonic=[[D-sharp minor|D{{music|sharp}} minor]]
|  first_pitch=E{{music|flat}}
|  second_pitch=F
|  third_pitch=G{{music|flat}}
|  fourth_pitch=A{{music|flat}}
|  fifth_pitch=B{{music|flat}}
|  sixth_pitch=C{{music|flat}}
|  seventh_pitch=D{{music|flat}}
}}
'''E{{music|flat}} minor''' or '''E-flat minor''' is a [[minor scale]] based on E-flat.  Its [[key signature]] has six flats.

Its [[Relative key|relative major]] is [[G-flat major]], and its [[parallel key|parallel major]] is [[E-flat major]]. Its enharmonic equivalent is [[D-sharp minor]].

This key is not used much in [[orchestra]]l music, and usually only to [[modulate]]. It is used in some keyboard pieces and has been most popular in Russian pieces. If piano music in this key must be arranged for orchestra, some people recommend [[transposing]] it into D minor or E minor.

In book 1 of the ''[[Well-Tempered Clavier]]'' by [[Johann Sebastian Bach]], Prelude No. 8 is written in E-flat minor while the following Fugue is written in D-sharp minor. In book 2, both movements are in D-sharp minor.

One of the few symphonies written in this key is [[Sergei Prokofiev|Prokofiev]]'s [[Symphony No. 6 (Prokofiev)|Symphony No. 6]]. A few other Soviet composers also wrote symphonies in this key, such as [[Andrei Eshpai|Eshpai]], [[Janis Ivanovs]] (fourth symphony ''Atlantis'', 1941), Ovchinnikov and [[Nikolai Myaskovsky|Myaskovsky]]. [[Rachmaninov]]'s "Elegie", Op. 3 No. 1 is in E-flat minor, as is his [[Études-Tableaux]] Op. 39 #5. These pieces are noted for being dark and [[wikt:mysterious|mysterious]], a mood this key has. This mood is shown even in the later jazz music "[['Round Midnight (song)|'Round Midnight]]" and "[[Take Five]]", which are also in the key.

The second movement to [[Gustav Mahler|Gustav Mahler's]] [[Symphony No. 8 (Mahler)|Eighth Symphony]] has a long orchestral and [[choral]] introduction in E-flat minor. The dark orchestral introduction to Beethoven's only [[oratorio]], [[Christ on the Mount of Olives (Beethoven)|Christ on the Mount of Olives]], is also in this key.

==Scales and keys==
{{Circle of fifths}}

==References==
*A. Morris, "Symphonies, Numbers And Keys" in ''Bob's Poetry Magazine'', [http://bobspoetry.com/Bobs03Mr.pdf III.3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928044823/http://bobspoetry.com/Bobs03Mr.pdf |date=2007-09-28 }}, 2006.

[[Category:Musical keys]]
[[Category:Minor scales]]