Relative key
major and minor scales with the same key signature
(Redirected from Relative minor)
When a piece of music is in a major key, the relative minor means the minor key which has the same key signature. It can be found by taking the sixth note of the first scale and playing a minor scale starting on that note. For example: in C major the sixth note is an A. Therefore, A minor is the relative minor of C major (C major and A minor share the same key signature: no sharps or flats). C major is called the relative major of A minor.
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 |