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A pair of major and minor scales sharing the same key signature are said to be in a relative relationship. [1] [2] The relative minor of a particular major key, or the relative major of a minor key, is the key which has the same key signature but a different tonic. (This is as opposed to parallel minor or major, which shares the same tonic.)
The 'major' alteration is usually superfluous, as a key description missing an alteration is invariably assumed to be major. In the German notation scheme, a hyphen is added between the pitch and the alteration (D-Dur). In German, Dutch, and Lithuanian, the minor key signatures are written with a lower case letter (d-Moll, d klein, d kleine terts).
In the key of C major, these would be: D minor, E minor, F major, G major, A minor, and C minor. Despite being three sharps or flats away from the original key in the circle of fifths, parallel keys are also considered as closely related keys as the tonal center is the same, and this makes this key have an affinity with the original key.
In all major scales with flat key signatures, the tonic in a major key is a perfect fourth below the last flat. When there is more than one flat, the tonic is the note of the second-to-last flat in the signature. [11] In the major key with four flats (B ♭ E ♭ A ♭ D ♭), for example, the second to last flat is A ♭, indicating a key of A ...
Major and minor third in a major chord: major third 'M' on bottom, minor third 'm' on top. Major and minor may also refer to scales and chords that contain a major third or a minor third, respectively. A major scale is a scale in which the third scale degree (the mediant) is a major third above the tonic note.
Similarly, in minor keys, chords from the parallel major may also be "borrowed". For example, in E minor, the diatonic chord built on the fourth scale degree is IVm, or A minor. However, in practice, many songs in E minor will use IV (A major), which is borrowed from the key of E major. Borrowing from the parallel major in a minor key, however ...
The tritone substitution is widely used for V7 chords in the popular jazz chord progression "ii-V-I". In the key of C, this progression is "d minor, G7, C Major". With tritone substitution, this progression would become "d minor, D ♭ 7, C Major," which contains chromatic root movement. When performed by the bass player, this chromatic root ...
The key may be in the major or minor mode, though musicians assume major when this is not specified; for example "This piece is in C" implies that the key of the piece is C major. Popular songs and classical music from the common practice period are usually in one key. Longer pieces in the classical repertoire may have sections in contrasting keys.