HearmonyRelative Minor: How to Find It in Any Key (With Chart)
The relative minor of a major key is the minor key that uses exactly the same notes and the same key signature. To find it, go down three half steps (a minor third) from the major key's home note, or count up to the 6th note of its scale. C major's relative minor is A minor, G major's is E minor, D major's is B minor and F major's is D minor.
What is a relative minor?
A relative minor is a minor key that shares its key signature with a major key but has a different home note. C major and A minor both use only the white keys: C D E F G A B. Start that set of notes on C and rest on C, and you're in C major. Start and rest on A, and the same notes become the A natural minor scale, A B C D E F G A.
The relationship works in both directions. A minor is the relative minor of C major, and C major is the relative major of A minor. Each of the twelve major keys has exactly one relative minor.
One detail: the shared notes are those of the natural minor. Minor-key music often raises the 7th note (G♯ in A minor) to give the scale a stronger pull home. That raised note belongs to the harmonic and melodic forms, which the guide to minor scales compares side by side.
How do you find the relative minor? Two quick methods
Both methods give the same answer; use whichever is faster for you.
- Down a minor third. From the major key's tonic, count down three half steps. From G: F♯, F, E. The relative minor of G major is E minor.
- Up to the 6th degree. Count up the major scale to its 6th note. In D major: D E F♯ G A B. The 6th note is B, so the relative minor is B minor.
To go the other way, from a minor key to its relative major, go up three half steps or count up to the 3rd note of the minor scale. E minor goes up to G major; C minor goes up to E♭ major.
Check the spelling with letter names. The relative minor is always three letters back, counting the starting letter: G, F, E gives E minor. That rule is why the relative minor of E♭ major is C minor, not B♯ minor, and why A major's is F♯ minor, not G♭ minor.
Relative minor chart for all 12 major keys
This chart lists every major key with its relative minor and their shared key signature, in circle-of-fifths order: each row going down adds a sharp, then the flat keys remove one flat at a time.
| Major key | Relative minor | Key signature |
|---|---|---|
| C major | A minor | No sharps or flats |
| 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 / G♭ major | D♯ minor / E♭ minor | 6 sharps / 6 flats |
| D♭ major | B♭ minor | 5 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ |
| A♭ major | F minor | 4 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ D♭ |
| E♭ major | C minor | 3 flats: B♭ E♭ A♭ |
| B♭ major | G minor | 2 flats: B♭ E♭ |
| F major | D minor | 1 flat: B♭ |
The most common slip is A major: its relative minor is F♯ minor, because the 6th note of A major (A B C♯ D E F♯) is F♯. On a circle of fifths diagram, each relative minor sits on the inner ring next to its major key.
Relative minor vs parallel minor
A relative minor shares the notes; a parallel minor shares the home note. C major's relative minor is A minor (same notes, different tonic). Its parallel minor is C minor (same tonic, three notes lowered: E♭, A♭ and B♭).
| Relative minor of C | Parallel minor of C | |
|---|---|---|
| Key | A minor | C minor |
| Home note | A (different) | C (same) |
| Notes | A B C D E F G (same as C major) | C D E♭ F G A♭ B♭ (three notes differ) |
| Key signature | None, like C major | 3 flats |
| Typical use | Moving to a related key mid-song | Switching mood on the same home note |
Composers use both. A minor-key piece moving to its relative major for a contrasting section is one of the most common key changes in classical music, because no notes need to change. A switch to the parallel key keeps the same home note but changes the color, which is why a major song can suddenly sound shadowed when it borrows a chord from the parallel minor.
Why the same chords can sound major or minor
A major key and its relative minor share all seven chords; only the numbering and the home chord change. In C major and A minor, the chords are the same seven:
| Chord | C | Dm | Em | F | G | Am | Bdim |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In C major | I | ii | iii | IV | V | vi | vii° |
| In A minor | III | iv | v | VI | VII | i | ii° |
The vi chord of a major key is the home chord of its relative minor. That's why the four chords C, G, Am, F sound like C major when the loop starts and rests on C, but start the loop on Am (Am, F, C, G) and many listeners hear A minor. The four-chord pop progression shows both versions of that loop.
Minor-key songs often replace the minor v chord (Em) with a major V (E or E7), which contains G♯. That chord never appears in C major, so it's one of the clearest signs that you're in A minor.
How to tell by ear if a song is in C major or A minor
Because the notes are the same, decide by finding where the music rests. These four checks work for any pair of relative keys:
- Find the resting chord. Notice which chord sounds finished at the ends of phrases and at the very end. C means C major; Am means A minor.
- Follow the bass at the start of each phrase. Bass lines tend to come back to the tonic on strong beats.
- Listen for a raised 7th. A G♯ in the melody, or an E major chord leading to Am, points straight at A minor.
- Hum the home note and check the third above it. Four half steps up (C to E) fits a major key; three half steps (A to C) fits a minor one.
Two traps catch most people. The first chord isn't always home, since songs often start somewhere else, and the key signature alone can't decide, since both keys share it. For the complete method, including songs to practice on, see how to find the key of a song.
Self-test: relative keys
- What is the relative minor of B♭ major?
- What is the relative minor of E major?
- What is the relative major of F♯ minor?
- A major's relative minor: F minor or F♯ minor?
- What is the relative major of C minor?
- A song uses mostly white keys, ends on an A minor chord and has an occasional G♯. What key is it in?
Answers: 1. G minor. 2. C♯ minor. 3. A major. 4. F♯ minor. 5. E♭ major. 6. A minor; the G♯ is the raised 7th.
Train the hearing side in Hearmony
Hearmony, the iPhone ear-training app the Hearmony team builds, doesn't drill key signatures, but it trains the listening behind relative keys. Home Key Harbor plays a I–IV–V–I cadence, then asks which degree of the major key you heard, using solfège. Its "Add La" unit introduces la, the bittersweet 6th: the note that becomes home in the relative minor.
Chord Garden starts with major vs minor chords. The free Chord Numbers side quest shows that the chords on steps 2, 3 and 6 are minor (Dm, Em and Am in C major), and Progression Highway puts the vi chord to work in the pop progression. Get Hearmony on the App Store, and use the ear training for beginners plan to see where keys fit.