What is Relative Minor?
Also called: relative major, relative key
The relative minor of a major key is the minor key that uses exactly the same notes and key signature. Its home note is the sixth note of the major scale, three semitones below the major key's root.
C major and A minor are relatives: both use only the white keys on a piano. G major and E minor share one sharp, and F major and D minor share one flat. Going the other way, every minor key has a relative major three semitones above it.
Because the notes are the same, songwriters move between relative keys easily, for example a verse centered on the minor chord and a chorus that lands on the major one. It also explains why key detection sometimes reports the relative key: the notes alone cannot tell them apart, the emphasis of the music does.
On the Camelot wheel, relative keys share the same number, such as 8A for A minor and 8B for C major.
Put it to work
Look up any key's relative and parallel keys, notes and chords.
Scale and Chord Finder