Key Relationships

 

1. Relative keys (always a major-minor pair and always a minor third apart)
 

Two keys that have the same key signature but a different tonic pitch are relative keys.

Examples:
 

Eb Major and c minor
D Major and b minor
2. Parallel Keys (always a major-minor pair)
 

Two keys that have different key signatures but the same tonic pitch are parallel keys.

Examples:
 

G Major and g minor
F# Major and f# minor

3. Enharmonic Keys (typically both the same mode)
 

Two keys that have the same tonic pitch (sounds the same) but it is spelled differently are enharmonic keys.

Examples:
 

F# Major and Gb Major
ab minor and g# minor

4. Closely-related Keys
 

Keys whose key signatures are no more than one accidental apart are closely-related keys.

Key Signature Major Rel. min.       Rel.
3# A f#   Dominant e G
2# D b   Tonic a C
1# G e   Subdominant d F
...or another way to think about it:
Major ii iii IV V vi
minor III iv v VI VII

 

5. Distantly-related Keys (foreign relationships)
 

If keys are not closely-related, then they are distantly-related.

Chromatic Third Related Keys
  Keys a major or minor third apart whose tonic triads have one or fewer notes in common.
  Examples:
   
C Maj Eb Maj Eb min E Maj A Maj Ab Maj Ab min
D min F min F# Maj F# min B Maj B min Bb min