Relative key
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
When a piece of music is in a major key, the relative minor means the minor key which has the same key signature. It can be found by taking the sixth note of the first scale and playing a minor scale starting on that note. For example: in C major the sixth note is an A. Therefore A minor is the relative minor of C major (C major and A minor share the same key signature: no sharps or flats). C major is called the relative major of A minor.
A complete list of relative minor/major pairs in order of the circle of fifths is:
| Key signature | Major key | Minor key |
|---|---|---|
B , E , A , D , G , C ,F![]() |
C flat major | A flat minor |
B , E , A , D , G , C![]() |
G flat major | E flat minor |
B , E , A , D , G![]() |
D flat major | B flat minor |
B , E , A , D![]() |
A flat major | F minor |
B , E , A![]() |
E flat major | C minor |
B , E![]() |
B flat major | G minor |
B![]() |
F major | D minor |
| C major | A minor | |
F![]() |
G major | E minor |
F , C![]() |
D major | B minor |
F , C , G![]() |
A major | F sharp minor |
F , C , G , D![]() |
E major | C sharp minor |
F , C , G , D , A![]() |
B major | G sharp minor |
F , C , G , D , A , E![]() |
F sharp major | D sharp minor |
F , C , G , D , A , E ,B![]() |
C sharp major | A sharp minor |
, E

