G-flat major
Major key with six flats; enharmonically equal to F-sharp major.
What it means
G-flat major is the major key with six flats in its key signature: B-flat, E-flat, A-flat, D-flat, G-flat, and C-flat. Its tonic is G-flat, and its relative minor is E-flat minor. On the circle of fifths it lies six steps on the flat side and meets F-sharp major there, with which it is sonically identical on tempered instruments.
Musical use
G-flat major is regarded as a key of soft, warm, and often dreamy sound, especially on the piano, where the black keys lie well under the hand. Frédéric Chopin wrote in G-flat major the Étude op. 10 no. 5, the “Black Key Étude,” and an Impromptu op. 51; Franz Schubert set his Impromptu op. 90 no. 3 in this key. For strings and winds G-flat major is awkward and usually avoided.
G-flat major should be distinguished from F-sharp major, which notates the same notes with six sharps; which spelling is chosen depends on the harmonic context and legibility. It differs fundamentally in signature and position from G major, which has only one sharp.
Performance practice
Practise G-flat major at the piano, where the scale lies almost entirely on black keys, and then read the music with all six flats aloud by note name. Watch for C-flat, which sounds like B but is read and thought as C-flat.