Relative Minors & Relative Majors

Hello, students!

Today, we are going to be talking about relative minor and relative major keys. What are they, and how do we find the relative major or relative minor of a key?

WHAT ARE RELATIVE MAJOR/MINOR KEYS?

As you know, every major key has a key signature. For example, the key signature of G major is F#, and the key signature of Eb major is Bb, Eb, and Ab. So, when we see a piece of music with an F# in the key signature, we can automatically assume that the key of the piece is G major, right? Well... Not exactly. Each major key also has a relative minor key that shares the same key signature. For example, the relative minor of G major is E minor, which also has an F# in its key signature. In other words, relative major/minor keys are "related", because they share the same key signature as each other.

HOW DO WE FIND THE RELATIVE MINOR OF A MAJOR KEY?

There are two ways you can go about it. Let's say you wanted to find the relative minor of C major. You could either go down a minor 3rd from C, or count 3 semitones down from C. Either way, you will land on the note, A. So, the relative minor of C major is A minor. Since C major has no sharps or flats in its key signature, A minor also has no sharps or flats.

HOW DO WE FIND THE RELATIVE MAJOR OF A MINOR KEY?

To find the relative major of a minor key, you essentially do the same process, but in reverse. For example, if we wanted to find the relative major of B minor, we would either go up a minor 3rd from B, or count 3 semitones up from B. Either way, you should arrive at the note, D. So, D major is the relative major of B minor, and both these keys have F# and C# in their key signature.

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