Closely related keys
You're about to meet the five closely related keys of every key, along with a shortcut for finding them.
Closely related keys, which French calls “tons voisins”, that is, “neighboring keys”, are keys whose key signatures differ by no more than one sharp or flat. They are the nearest keys of all, because you move from one to the other by changing at most one note.
Every key has five closely related keys:
- its relative key;
- the key a fifth above;
- the key a fifth below;
- the relative of the key a fifth above;
- the relative of the key a fifth below.
| Closely related keys of C major | Key | Key signature |
|---|---|---|
| Relative | A minor | none |
| Fifth above | G major | 1 sharp |
| Fifth below | F major | 1 flat |
| Relative of G | E minor | 1 sharp |
| Relative of F | D minor | 1 flat |
| Closely related keys of C minor (3 flats) | Key | Key signature |
|---|---|---|
| Relative | E♭ major | 3 flats |
| Fifth above | G minor | 2 flats |
| Fifth below | F minor | 4 flats |
| Relative of G minor | B♭ major | 2 flats |
| Relative of F minor | A♭ major | 4 flats |
The shortcut through scale degrees
Look at the two tables again, and you'll notice a handy pattern:
- the five closely related keys of a major key have as their tonics its 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th degrees (in C: D minor, E minor, F major, G major, A minor);
- the five closely related keys of a minor key have as their tonics its 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th degrees, taking the 7th degree unaltered (in C minor: E♭ major, F minor, G minor, A♭ major, B♭ major).
Clockwise: add a sharp (up a fifth). Counterclockwise: add a flat (down a fifth). At the bottom, enharmonic keys join the two branches.
- Key signature
- no sharps or flats
- Relative
- A minor, a minor third below; leading tone G♯ added as an accidental
- Closely related keys
- A minor, F major, G major, D minor, E minor
- Landmark
- the model scale, no accidentals
Give the closely related keys of G major, D minor and B♭ major.
So far, every scale you've studied moves by whole steps and half steps. Next comes a scale made only of half steps: the chromatic scale.