In
music
Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact definition of music, definitions of mu ...
, relative keys are the
major
Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicat ...
and
minor scales that have the same
key signatures (
enharmonically equivalent), meaning that they share all the same notes but are arranged in a different order of
whole steps and
half steps. A pair of major and minor scales sharing the same key signature are said to be in a relative relationship.
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. (This is as opposed to
''parallel'' minor or major, which shares the same tonic.)
For example, F major and D minor both have one flat in their key signature at B♭; therefore, D minor is the relative minor of F major, and conversely F major is the relative major of D minor. The tonic of the relative minor is the
sixth scale degree of the major scale, while the tonic of the relative major is the
third degree of the minor scale.
The minor key starts three semitones below its relative major; for example, A minor is three semitones below its relative, C major.
The relative relationship may be visualized through the circle of fifths.
Relative keys are a type of
closely related keys, the keys between which most
modulations occur, because they differ by no more than one accidental. Relative keys are the most closely related, as they share exactly the same notes.
The major key and the minor key also share the same set of chords. In every major key, the triad built on the first degree (note) of the scale is major, the second and third are minor, the fourth and fifth are major, the sixth minor and the seventh is diminished. In the relative minor, the same triads pertain. Because of this, it can occasionally be difficult to determine whether a particular piece of music is in a major key or its relative minor.
Distinguishing on the basis of melody
To distinguish a minor key from its relative major, one can look to the first note/chord of the melody, which usually is the
tonic or the
dominant (fifth note); The last note/chord also tends to be the tonic. A "raised 7th" is also a strong indication of a minor scale (instead of a major scale): For example, C major and A minor both have no sharps or flats in their key signatures, but if the note G (the seventh note in A minor raised by a
semitone) occurs frequently in a melody, then this melody is likely in A
harmonic minor, instead of C major.
List
A complete list of relative minor/major pairs in order of the
circle of fifths is:
Terminology
The term for "relative key" in German is ''Paralleltonart'', while
parallel key
In music theory, a major scale and a minor scale that have the same tonic note are called parallel keys and are said to be in a parallel relationship. Forte, Allen (1979). ''Tonal Harmony'', p.9. 3rd edition. Holt, Rinehart, and Wilson. . "When ...
is ''Varianttonart''. Similar terminology is used in most Germanic and Slavic languages, but not
Romance languages
The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language f ...
. This is not to be confused with the term
parallel chord
In music theory, a major scale and a minor scale that have the same tonic note are called parallel keys and are said to be in a parallel relationship. Forte, Allen (1979). ''Tonal Harmony'', p.9. 3rd edition. Holt, Rinehart, and Wilson. . "When ...
, which denotes chords derived from the relative key in English usage.
See also
*
Chromatic mediant
*
Mode (music)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Relative Key
Musical keys
Chromaticism