If F-sharp minor were a person, who would she be?
Here's how the Signature Series works:
1. Select a musical key.
2. Gather the most famous melodies composed in that key.
3. Mash up.
4. Meet the person behind the key.
To get to know F-sharp minor, click on the orange play button.
Follow along with the pop-up comments to find out what composition is playing.
F-sharp minor: The Recluse
Also known as:
The Cat Lady
Miss Lonelyhearts
F-sharp minors you might know:
Miss Havisham from Great Expectations.
Annie Wilkes from Stephen King's Misery.
Edith Bouvier Beale.
The notes: F♯- G♯ - A - B - C♯ - D - E♯ - F♯.
Number of sharps: three.
Relative major: A major.
What they said about F-sharp minor in the 18th century:
"F-sharp minor, although it leads to great distress, nevertheless is more languid than lethal. Moreover, it has something abandoned, singular and misanthropic about it." – Johann Mattheson, 1713.
"A gloomy key: it tugs at passion as a dog biting a dress. Resentment and discontent are its language. It really does not seem to like its own position: therefore it languishes ever ... for the triumphant happiness of D major." – Christoph Schubart, 1784.
More F-sharp minor listening:
"Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson.
2nd movement from Piano Concerto no. 3 by Sergei Rachmaninov.
The Canadian connection:
"Daydreamer" by Patrick Watson uses some F-sharp minor in the instrumental intro section, including the opening chord.
Editor's note: Historical quotes and translations from A History of Key Characteristics in the 18th and Early 19th Centuries by Rita Steblin, UMI Research Press (1983).
Related:
Listen to more of The Signature Series
6 Websites To Help You Get Out Of The House And Find Something To Do