Relative minor and relative major

Every major key has a minor key hiding inside it, made of exactly the same notes. Finding it is a matter of counting three semitones.

Same notes, different home

Every major key has a relative minor that uses exactly the same notes and the same key signature, but starts on a different tonic. The relative minor’s tonic is the 6th degree of the major scale; equivalently, it is a minor 3rd (3 semitones) below the major tonic.

• C major → Am;
• G major → Em;
• F major → Dm.

In reverse, the relative major is the ♭3 of the minor scale: Am → C major.

On the bass

From a major root, play three frets down on the same string to find the relative minor root. Or take the same fret on the next string down, then go two frets up: C at fret 3 on the A string → A at fret 5 on the E string.

All twelve pairs

The signature alone does not tell major from minor. The music does: which note feels like home, and how the piece begins and ends. On the circle of fifths the relative minors form the inner ring (lesson 5.6).