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The relative relationship may be visualized through the circle of fifths.
Relative keys are a type of
music
Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...
, 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 indicators ...
and minor scale
In music theory, the minor scale is three scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending) – rather than just two as with the major scale, which also ...
s that have the same key signature
In Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp (), flat (), or rarely, natural () symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music. The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef a ...
s (enharmonic
In modern musical notation and tuning, an enharmonic equivalent is a note, interval, or key signature that is equivalent to some other note, interval, or key signature but "spelled", or named differently. The enharmonic spelling of a written n ...
ally equivalent), meaning that they share all the same notes but are arranged in a different order of whole step
In Western music theory, a major second (sometimes also called whole tone or a whole step) is a second spanning two semitones (). A second is a musical interval encompassing two adjacent staff positions (see Interval number for more deta ...
s and half step
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically.
It is defined as the interval between two adjacent n ...
s. 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
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (ma ...
, or the relative major of a minor key, is the key which has the same key signature
In Western musical notation, a key signature is a set of sharp (), flat (), or rarely, natural () symbols placed on the staff at the beginning of a section of music. The initial key signature in a piece is placed immediately after the clef a ...
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 key
In music, a closely related key (or close key) is one sharing many common tones with an original key, as opposed to a distantly related key (or distant key). In music harmony, there are six of them: five share all, or all except one, pitches wi ...
s, 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 asemitone
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically.
It is defined as the interval between two adjacent n ...
) occurs frequently in a melody, then this melody is likely in A harmonic minor
In music theory, the minor scale is three scale patterns – the natural minor scale (or Aeolian mode), the harmonic minor scale, and the melodic minor scale (ascending or descending) – rather than just two as with the major scale, which al ...
, 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'', whileparallel 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 fam ...
. 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
In music, chromatic mediants are "altered mediant and submediant chords." A chromatic mediant relationship defined conservatively is a relationship between two sections and/or chords whose roots are related by a major third or minor third, and ...
*Mode (music)
In music theory, the term mode or ''modus'' is used in a number of distinct senses, depending on context.
Its most common use may be described as a type of musical scale coupled with a set of characteristic melodic and harmonic behaviors. It ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Relative Key Musical keys Chromaticism