#music #music-theory

idea

The relative minor to a major scale is the minor scale that starts 3 Semitones below. It shares the same notes. For example, the relative minor of C is a.

Since they use the same notes, the way to differentiate them is:

  1. looking at the first or last note of a piece, which is usually the tonic of the scale[1].
  2. looking for raised 7th, which are an indicator of minor scales - the raised 7th transitioning a minor melodic to a minor harmonic (and vice-versa) while still sounding normal.

references

Wikipedia / Relative key