Relative Minor and Major Keys
Every major key has a relative minor that uses the same notes and the same key signature. To find it, go to the 6th note of the major scale, or count three half steps down from its home note: C major's relative minor is A minor, and D major's is B minor.
What a relative minor is
C major and A minor use exactly the same seven notes, with no sharps or flats. The only difference is the home note (the tonic): C major’s scale runs from C to C, and A minor’s from A to A.
Keys that share their notes and key signature like this are relative keys. A minor is the relative minor of C major, and C major is the relative major of A minor. Every major key has one relative minor, and every minor key has one relative major.
They sound different because the music settles on a different note. A tune in C major comes home to C and sounds bright; a tune in A minor comes home to A and sounds darker, even though both use the same notes. The minor scale’s pattern of steps is in the major and minor scales guide.
How to find the relative minor of a major key
Three ways, all giving the same answer. Use whichever you can do fastest.
- Go to the 6th note of the major scale. In D major (D E F♯ G A B C♯ D), the 6th note is B, so the relative minor is B minor.
- Count three half steps down from the tonic. From D: C♯, C, B. B minor again. On a piano that’s three keys down, counting black keys.
- Look inside the circle of fifths. The circle of fifths puts each relative minor just inside its major key (below).
Check the letter name. The relative minor is always two letters below the major key’s letter: C → A, D → B, E♭ → C, F → D. That tells you how to spell it. A major’s relative minor is F♯ minor, not G♭ minor, because two letters below A is F. The relative minor of a major key with flats has flats too (E♭ major → C minor), and one with sharps has sharps (E major → C♯ minor).
How to find the relative major of a minor key
Go the other way:
- Go to the 3rd note of the minor scale. In E minor (E F♯ G A B C D E), the 3rd note is G, so the relative major is G major.
- Count three half steps up from the tonic. From E: F, F♯, G.
The letter check works in reverse: the relative major is two letters above the minor key’s letter (E → G, B → D, C → E♭).
Relative minor chart: every major key and its relative minor
All 15 major keys with their relative minors and the key signature each pair shares.
| Major key | Relative minor | Signature |
|---|---|---|
| C major | A minor | none |
| G major | E minor | 1 sharp: F♯ |
| D major | B minor | 2 sharps: F♯ C♯ |
| A major | F♯ minor | 3 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ |
| E major | C♯ minor | 4 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ |
| B major | G♯ minor | 5 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ |
| F♯ major | D♯ minor | 6 sharps: F♯ C♯ G♯ D♯ A♯ E♯ |
| C♯ major | A♯ minor | 7 sharps |
| F major | D minor | 1 flat: B♭ |
| B♭ major | G minor | 2 flats: B♭ E♭ |
| E♭ major | C minor | 3 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ |
| A♭ major | F minor | 4 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ |
| D♭ major | B♭ minor | 5 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ |
| G♭ major | E♭ minor | 6 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ C♭ |
| C♭ major | A♭ minor | 7 flats |
Three pairs sound the same and are only spelled differently: B and C♭ major (G♯ and A♭ minor), F♯ and G♭ major (D♯ and E♭ minor), and C♯ and D♭ major (A♯ and B♭ minor). Most music uses the spelling with fewer signs. How to read the signs themselves is in the key signatures guide.
Relative keys on the circle of fifths
Going round the circle, the relative minors follow the same order as their majors: A, E, B, F♯ and on clockwise, adding a sharp each step; D, G, C, F and on counterclockwise, adding a flat.
Relative or parallel minor?
The two are easy to mix up:
- Relative keys share a key signature and have different tonics: C major and A minor.
- Parallel keys share a tonic and have different key signatures: C major and C minor (three flats).
To turn a major key into its parallel minor, lower its 3rd, 6th and 7th notes by a half step. To find the relative minor, keep the notes and move the tonic down to the 6th.
Major or relative minor? How to tell which key a piece is in
A key signature fits two keys, so the signs alone don’t tell you whether a piece is in the major key or its relative minor. Two clues do:
- The last note. Music usually ends, and often starts, on its tonic. One sharp ending on G is G major; ending on E, it’s E minor.
- An extra sharp or natural. Minor-key music usually raises the 7th note of the scale (the harmonic minor), so it pulls up to the tonic. In A minor that’s G♯, which isn’t in the key signature. If a piece with no key signature keeps showing G♯, it’s probably in A minor.
Practice relative keys
In Trebly’s lesson The Minor Scale you build A, E and D minor on a keyboard, find relative keys by tapping their home notes, and tell whether a tune is in the major key or its relative minor. To keep the pairs in front of you, print the free key signatures chart or circle of fifths chart, which show every major key with its relative minor. The piano minor scales chart has all 12 minor scales on the keys, each with its relative major, and the minor key chord chart has the chords of every minor key beside its relative major.