Relative keys

Every major key has a minor key that uses exactly the same notes and the same key signature. C major and A minor share everything except their home note. They are called relatives.

The relative minor starts on the 6th degree of the major scale. Going the other way, the relative major sits a minor 3rd above the minor root.

This pair is the most-used key relationship in real music: songs drift between a major key and its relative minor without changing a single accidental.

relative minor = 6th of the major · relative major = m3 above the minor

C major and A minor: same notes, different home.

Practise this in the trainer — it opens with this lesson the first time the concept comes up.