relative minor

noun

Music.

1. the minor key whose tonic is the sixth degree of a given major key.

Word History and Origins

Origin of relative minor¹

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

You can begin practicing harmonic analysis by practicing identifying whether a piece is in the major key or in its relative minor.

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This means the substituted chord is the relative minor of the tonic chord.

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It is easy to predict where the relative minor of a major key can be found.

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The pattern for the minor scale starts a half step plus a whole step lower than the major scale pattern, so a relative minor is always three half steps lower than its relative major.

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C minor is the relative minor of E flat major.

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