Minor scale based on the accidentals of the "natural" minor scale, not on those of the harmonic or melodic minor scales. For example, a piece in E minor will have one sharp in its key signature because the E natural minor scale has one sharp (F). Major and minor keys that share the same key signature are "relative" to each other. For instance, F major is the relative major of D minor since both have key signatures with one flat. Since the natural minor scale is built on the 6th degree of the major scale, the tonic of the relative minor is
Scherzo in A-flat major (Borodin) Scherzo in A-flat major (Borodin) Alexander Borodin's Scherzo in A-flat major is a lively piece written in 1885, while Borodin was in Belgium for an early performance of his then incomplete opera "Prince Igor". It was originally written for solo piano but in 1889 Alexander Glazunov orchestrated it, along with the "Petite Suite". Borodin dedicated the piece to Théodore Jadoul, who made a four-hand piano arrangement of it. The Scherzo can be recognized as one of Borodin's compositions instantaneously because of its bright tone, pounding rhythms and exciting melodies. In the main theme of the piece a constant rhythm is