1 LESSON 11: THE MINOR MODE
u SUGGESTIONS FOR LISTENING lesson example: • George Frideric Handel (1685–1759), Concerto Grosso, op. 6, no. 9, third movement (1739). some well-known music in minor keys: • Henry Purcell (1659–1695), Dido and Aeneas, “Dido’s Lament” (1689). • Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), Toccata and Fugue in D Minor for organ (c. 1708). • Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, Prelude and Fugue in C Minor (1722). • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), Piano Sonata in A Minor, K. 310, first and third movements (1778). • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), Symphony No. 40 in G Minor, first, third, and fourth movements (1788). • Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, first and third move- ments (1808). • Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, first and second move- ments (1824). • Franz Schubert (1797–1828), Symphony No. 8 in B Minor (“Unfinished”), first movement (1822). • Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849), Ballade in G Minor, op. 23 (1835). • Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849), Preludes, op. 28, no. 4 in E Minor, no. 6 in B Minor, no. 20 in C Minor (1839). • Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847), Violin Concerto in E Minor, first movement (1844). • Johannes Brahms (1833–1897), Rhapsody in G Minor for piano, op. 79, no. 2 (1879). • Johannes Brahms (1833–1897), Symphony No. 3 in F Major, third movement (1883). • Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943), Prelude for Piano in Cs Minor, op. 3, no. 2 (1892). • Antonin Dvorak (1841–1904), Symphony No. 9 in E Minor (“From the New World”), first, third, and fourth movements (1893). • Piotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893), Symphony No. 6 in B Minor (“Pathétique”), first and fourth movements (1893). • “Puttin’ On the Ritz” (Irving Berlin, from Puttin’ On the Ritz [film], 1930). • “Yesterdays” (Jerome Kern, Otto Harbach, from Roberta, 1933). • “Summertime” (George Gershwin, DuBose Heyward, from Porgy and Bess, 1935). • “Sing, Sing, Sing” (Benny Goodman and His Orchestra [Louis Prima], 1937). • “Angel Eyes” (Matt Dennis, Earl K. Brent, 1946). • “Too Darn Hot” (Cole Porter, from Kiss Me, Kate, 1948). • “Whatever Lola Wants” (Richard Adler, Jerry Ross, from Damn Yankees, 1955). • “Just You Wait” (Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Loewe, from My Fair Lady, 1956). • “A Boy Like That” (Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, from West Side Story, 1957). • “Reviewing the Situation,” “You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two” (Lionel Bart, from Oliver!, 1960).
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LESSON 11: THE MINOR MODE
• “Sunrise, Sunset,” “To Life” (Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, from Fiddler on the Roof, 1964). • “The Sound of Silence” (Simon and Garfunkel [Paul Simon], from Wednesday Morning, 3AM, 1964). • “Paint It, Black” (Rolling Stones [Mick Jagger, Keith Richards], from Aftermath, 1966). • “Summer in the City” (The Lovin’ Spoonful [Mark Sebastian, Steve Boone], from Hums of the Lovin’ Spoonful, 1966). • “Stairway to Heaven” (Led Zeppelin [Jimmy Page, Robert Plant], from Led Zeppelin, 1971). • “Rhiannon” (Fleetwood Mac [Stevie Nicks], from Fleetwood Mac, 1975). The song starts and ends in minor, although it gravitates to the relative major in the chorus (e.g., “All your life you’ve never seen . . .”). • “Cold as Ice” (Foreigner [Lou Gramm, Mick Jones], from Foreigner, 1977). • “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd” (Stephen Sondheim, from Sweeney Todd, 1979). • “Fascination Street” (The Cure [Gallup, O’Donnell, Smith, Thompson, Tolhurst, Williams], from Disintegration, 1989). • “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (Nirvana [Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl], from Never- mind, 1991). • “Fallin’ ” (Alicia Keys, from Songs in A Minor, 2001). songs that begin in minor but end in the relative major: • “Blue Skies” (Irving Berlin, from Betsy, 1926). • “Love Me or Leave Me” (Walter Donaldson, Gus Kahn, from Whoopee, 1928). • “It Don’t Mean a Thing (If It Ain’t Got That Swing)” (Duke Ellington, 1932). • “My Funny Valentine” (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, from Babes in Arms, 1937). • “So In Love” (Cole Porter, from Kiss Me, Kate, 1948). • “My Favorite Things” (Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, from The Sound of Music, 1959). • “The Sweetest Sounds” (Richard Rodgers, from No Strings, 1962). • “Ribbons Down My Back” (Jerry Herman, from Hello, Dolly!, 1964). • “Girl” (The Beatles [John Lennon], from Rubber Soul, 1965). The verse is in minor, the chorus (“Ah, girl . . .”) in the relative major. • “Dream Weaver” (Gary Wright, from The Dream Weaver, 1975). The verse is in minor, the chorus (“Ooh, dream weaver . . .”) in the relative major. see also: • Fifteen Character Pieces: Folk Song.
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