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Relative key
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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, respectively. For example, G major and E minor both have a single sharp in their key signature at F♯; so we say that 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 flat major | A flat minor |
| B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭, C♭ | G flat major | E flat minor |
| B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭, G♭ | D flat major | B flat minor |
| B♭, E♭, A♭, D♭ | A flat major | F minor |
| B♭, E♭, A♭ | E flat major | C minor |
| B♭, E♭ | B flat 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 sharp minor |
| F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯ | E major | C sharp minor |
| F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯ | B major | G sharp minor |
| F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯, E♯ | F sharp major | D sharp minor |
| F♯, C♯, G♯, D♯, A♯, E♯, B♯ | C sharp major | A sharp minor |
Together with moves to the dominant (fifth scale degree) or sub-dominant (fourth scale degree), modulations to the relative minor or major are the most common in tonal music
To find the relative minor of a particular key go down a minor third (or 3 half steps) 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 note A. So, A minor is the relative minor of C major. Or instead of going down a 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 (or 3 half steps) 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 note G. So, G major is the relative major of E minor.