Relative key
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In music, the relative minor of a particular major key (or the relative major of a minor key) is the key which has the same key signature but a different tonic, as opposed to parallel minor (or major, where appropriate) which shares the same tonic. For example, G major and E minor both have a single sharp in their key signature at F♯; therefore, E minor is the relative minor of G major. The relative minor of a major key always has a tonic a minor third lower.
A complete list of relative minor/major pairs in order of the circle of fifths is:
| Key signature | Major key | Minor key |
|---|---|---|
| B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, C♭, F♭ | C♭ major | A♭ minor |
| B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, C♭ | G♭ major | E♭ minor |
| B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭ | D♭ major | B♭ minor |
| B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭ | A♭ major | F minor |
| B♭, E♭, A♭ | E♭ major | C minor |
| B♭, E♭ | B♭ major | G minor |
| B♭ | F major | D minor |
| C major | A minor | |
| F♯ | G major | E minor |
| F♯, C♯ | D major | B minor |
| F♯, C♯, G♯ | A major | F♯ minor |
| F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯ | E major | C♯ minor |
| F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯ | B major | G♯ minor |
| F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯, E♯ | F♯ major | D♯ minor |
| F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯, E♯, B♯ | C♯ major | A♯ minor |
Together with moves to the dominant (fifth scale degree) or subdominant (fourth scale degree), modulations to the relative minor or major are the most common in tonal music.
[edit] Finding the relative major or minor
To find the relative minor of a particular key go down a minor third (three semitones) from the tonic of the major key.
- Example: If your major key is C major, going down a minor third from the note C will land you on the note A. So, A minor is the relative minor of C major. Or instead of going down a minor third you can go up a sixth, or say it is the sixth note in the Major scale
To find the relative major of a particular key go up a minor third from the tonic of the minor key.
- Example: If your minor key is E minor, going up a minor third from the note E will land you on the note G. So, G major is the relative major of E minor.
