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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
There are certain scales and keys that can be thought of as related to other scales and keys. One example that is frequently used to associate different keys is when you have parallel keys and relative keys. You might have heard these terms before, especially when talking about minor scales and keys. In this post, we will explore the difference between Relative Minor and Parallel Minor. What do they both mean and how do we figure out what they are? First, however, let’s go through a quick general recap of major and minor scales and keys. Major vs. Minor – Scales and KeysWhat is a Relative Minor? What is Parallel Minor? Relative vs. Parallel Minor Summed UpMajor vs. Minor – Scales and KeysA scale in music is a group of pitches that are all played in order – either ascending or descending. Here’s an example of an ascending and descending G Major scale.It has the notes G – A – B – C – D – E – F# – G with G being the tonic, also known as the keynote.G major scaleA key, on the other hand, is when a song uses all the notes from a specific scale, but not necessarily in the order of a scale.For example, here’s a melody written in the key of G Major.Melody in the key of G majorThe difference between a major scale and a minor scale is the pattern of tones and semitones between the notes of their scales.The major scale follows this pattern: Tone – Tone – Semitone – Tone – Tone – Tone – SemitoneAnd the minor scale follows this pattern (this is for the natural minor scale, which is the main one): Tone – Semitone – Tone – Tone – Semitone – Tone – Tone With every major or minor key, there is both a corresponding relative and parallel key of the opposite kind – so a major key has both a relative and parallel minor key, and a minor key has both a relative and parallel major key.Let’s first look at what a relative key is to help explain this.What is a Relative Minor? In music, the key of a song or piece is usually figured out by looking at the key signature.This is how many sharps or flats are in a piece of music, and it’s typically found at the start of each bar line, and at the top of the piece right between the clef sign and time signature.So in the key of E major, the key signature is 4 sharps: E major key signature and scaleHowever, there are always two scales – and therefore two keys – that have any one specific key signature.There’s
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