G-sharp major
Major key signature
title: "G-sharp major" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["musical-keys", "major-scales"] description: "Major key signature" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-sharp_major" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Major key signature ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox musical scale"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | G-sharp major |
| { \magnifyStaff #3/2 \omit Score.TimeSignature \key gis \major s16 \clef F \key gis \major s^"" } | |
| Alternative notation{ \magnifyStaff #3/2 \omit Score.TimeSignature \set Staff.keyAlterations = #`((3 . ,SHARP)(0 . ,SHARP)(4 . ,SHARP)(1 . ,SHARP)(-2 . ,SHARP)(2 . ,SHARP)(-1 . ,SHARP)(3 . ,DOUBLE-SHARP)) s^"" } | |
| relative | E-sharp minor |
| →enharmonic: F minor | |
| parallel | G-sharp minor |
| enharmonic | A-flat major |
| dominant | D-sharp major |
| →enharmonic: E-flat major | |
| subdominant | C-sharp major |
| first_pitch | G |
| second_pitch | A |
| third_pitch | B |
| fourth_pitch | C |
| fifth_pitch | D |
| sixth_pitch | E |
| seventh_pitch | F |
| :: |
| name = G-sharp major { \magnifyStaff #3/2 \omit Score.TimeSignature \key gis \major s16 \clef F \key gis \major s^"" } Alternative notation{ \magnifyStaff #3/2 \omit Score.TimeSignature \set Staff.keyAlterations = #`((3 . ,SHARP)(0 . ,SHARP)(4 . ,SHARP)(1 . ,SHARP)(-2 . ,SHARP)(2 . ,SHARP)(-1 . ,SHARP)(3 . ,DOUBLE-SHARP)) s^"" } | relative = E-sharp minor →enharmonic: F minor | parallel = G-sharp minor | enharmonic = A-flat major | dominant = D-sharp major →enharmonic: E-flat major | subdominant = C-sharp major | first_pitch = G | second_pitch = A | third_pitch = B | fourth_pitch = C | fifth_pitch = D | sixth_pitch = E | seventh_pitch = F G-sharp major is a musical key based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has eight sharps, requiring one double sharp and six single sharps. Because the same pitches can be indicated by the enharmonically equivalent key of A-flat major (with four flats), a G-sharp major key signature is extremely rare.
Its relative minor is E-sharp minor, which would be replaced by F minor. Its parallel minor is G-sharp minor.
The G-sharp major scale is: \header { tagline = ##f } scale = \relative a { \key gis \major \omit Score.TimeSignature gis'^"G♯ natural major scale" ais bis cis dis eis fisis gis fisis eis dis cis bis ais gis2 \clef F \key gis \major } \score { { } \layout { } \midi { } }
Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The G-sharp harmonic major and melodic major scales are:
\header { tagline = ##f } scale = \relative a { \key gis \major \omit Score.TimeSignature gis'^"G♯ harmonic major scale" ais bis cis dis e fisis gis fisis e! dis cis bis ais gis2 } \score { { } \layout { } \midi { } } \header { tagline = ##f } scale = \relative a { \accidentalStyle modern \key gis \major \omit Score.TimeSignature gis'^"G♯ melodic major scale" ais bis cis dis eis fisis gis fis e dis cis bis ais gis2 } \score { { } \layout { } \midi { } }
Although the enharmonic key of A-flat major is preferred because it has only four flats, compared with G-sharp major's eight sharps (including the F), G-sharp major appears as a secondary key area in several works in sharp keys, most notably in the Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp major from Johann Sebastian Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1. The G-sharp minor prelude (and the fugue) from the same set ends with a Picardy third, on a G-sharp major chord. G-sharp major is tonicised briefly in several of Frédéric Chopin's nocturnes in C-sharp minor. A section in the second movement of Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 1 is in G-sharp major, although the key signature has four sharps. The end of the exposition of the second movement Charles-Valentin Alkan's Grande sonate 'Les quatre âges', subtitled Quasi-Faust, is in G-sharp major, albeit written with a six-sharp key signature (the movement opens in D-sharp minor and ends in F-sharp major).
The final pages of A World Requiem by John Foulds are written in G-sharp major. The key signature is shown as in the example with the scale above, starting with the C and ending at the F (C, G, D, A, E, B, F).
In tuning systems where the number of notes per octave is not a multiple of 12, notes such as G and A are not enharmonically equivalent, nor are the corresponding key signatures. These tunings can produce keys with no analogue in 12-tone equal temperament, which can require double sharps, double flats, or microtonal alterations in key signatures. For example, the key of G-sharp major, with eight sharps, is equivalent to A-flat major in 12-tone equal temperament, but in 19-tone equal temperament, it is equivalent to A-double-flat major instead, with 11 flats.
Scale degree chords
- Tonic – G-sharp major
- Supertonic – A-sharp minor
- Mediant – B-sharp minor
- Subdominant – C-sharp major
- Dominant – D-sharp major
- Submediant – E-sharp minor
- Leading-tone – F-double-sharp diminished
References
References
- Thomas Busby. (1840). "A Dictionary of Three Thousand Musical Terms". D'Almaine.
- [http://www.musicsalesclassical.com/composer/work/14652 "John Foulds: ''A World Requiem'' (1921)] {{Webarchive. link. (2018-07-27 , [[Wise Music Group). Wise Music Classical]]
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