Relative Keys on Violin — Understanding Major and Minor Connections
Relative keys are one of the most important concepts in music theory. They explain why some major and minor scales share the exact same notes, even though they sound completely different. For violin players, understanding relative keys helps make scales, melodies, and chord relationships much easier to visualize.
In this lesson from Violin Theory Simplified, Dayna Bee walks through how relative major and minor scales work and how to recognize them instantly on the violin.
What Are Relative Keys?
A relative major and relative minor scale share the same notes and key signature. The only difference is the starting point — also known as the root note. Every major scale has a relative minor, and every minor scale has a relative major.
The relative minor is always found on the 6th degree of the major scale. For example, if we list the notes of C major (C–D–E–F–G–A–B), the 6th note is A. This means A minor is the relative minor of C major.
Why This Matters on Violin
Because the violin has repeating note patterns across the fingerboard, recognizing relative keys helps you understand that many scales share the same shapes. The difference comes from where you start and which note feels like the musical “home.”
This makes learning new keys faster and helps you understand how melodies move between major and minor sounds.
Watch the Lesson
This video expands on the QR code lesson from the book and shows how C major and A minor relate to each other visually on the violin.
🎻 Lesson taught by Dayna Bee — follow her here: https://www.instagram.com/daynabeemusic/?hl=en