{"id":4897,"date":"2021-09-10T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-10T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/?p=4897"},"modified":"2023-01-09T15:27:33","modified_gmt":"2023-01-09T23:27:33","slug":"major-songs-in-minor-keys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/major-songs-in-minor-keys\/","title":{"rendered":"Major Songs in Minor Keys! (Minor Key Concepts)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Have you ever wondered what songs in major keys sound like in <em>minor<\/em> keys? <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this video, Sam and I find out! <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We&#8217;ll take some of the happiest songs we know and re-imagine them in minor keys. Songs like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/1lWJXDG2i0A\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8220;Free Fallin'&#8221; by Tom Petty<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/iPUmE-tne5U\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8220;Walking on Sunshine&#8221; by Katrina And The Waves<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/1k8craCGpgs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8220;Don&#8217;t Stop Believin'&#8221; by Journey<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This requires a little theory, so if you have questions about the minor key concepts we&#8217;re using, keep reading!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Minor Keys<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In Western music, <strong>major keys <\/strong>tend to sound &#8220;happy&#8221; while <strong>minor keys <\/strong>tend to sound &#8220;sad.&#8221; Scales (a sequence of notes) in either a major or minor key will follow a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/how-to-play-any-minor-scale\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">set pattern<\/a> of whole and half steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s the pattern of whole and half steps for a <strong>minor scale<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-text-color has-large-font-size\" style=\"color:#f61a30\"><strong>W &#8211; H &#8211; W &#8211; W &#8211; H &#8211; W &#8211; W<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Using this formula, you can build a minor scale on <em>any<\/em> note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This formula lets you build a natural minor scale, but there are other types of minor scales. To learn about <b>harmonic minor<\/b> and <b>melodic minor scales<\/b>, take a peek at Cassi&#8217;s lesson <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/different-minor-scales\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<span class=\"blue-text-block\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Major%20Songs%20in%20Minor%20Keys\/whole%20steps%20and%20half%20stepspsd.png\">\ud83c\udfb9 <b><i>Whole Steps vs. Half Steps:<\/i><\/b> Half steps are keys that are right next to each other on the piano. A whole step consists of two half-steps.<\/span>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Relative Minor Keys<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>All major keys have a <strong>relative minor key<\/strong>. And all minor keys have a <strong>relative major key<\/strong>. They&#8217;re &#8220;related&#8221; to each other because they both have the same number of sharps and flats!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;ve ever seen the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/circle-of-fifths-useless\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Circle of Fifths<\/a>, this is what it&#8217;s all about.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Major%20Songs%20in%20Minor%20Keys\/circle%20of%20fifths%20-%20colored.png\" alt=\"Circle of Fifths diagram with inner keys (minor) colored in red and outer keys (major) colored in burgundy.\" width=\"517\" height=\"517\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>But if you don&#8217;t want to carry a Circle of Fifths shaped frisbee everywhere you go, just keep these formulas in mind:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-9d6595d7 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>To find the relative minor of a major key,<\/strong> count three half steps <em>down<\/em> from the starting note of the major key. For example, three half-steps down from C is A, so A Minor is the relative minor key of C Major. C Major and A Minor both have no sharps and flats.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>To find the relative major of a minor key,<\/strong> count three half steps <em>up<\/em> from the starting note of a minor key. For example, three half-steps up from E is G, so G Major is the relative major key of E Minor. G Major and E Minor both have one sharp (F#).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/pianote.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/blog\/2021\/Major%20Songs%20in%20Minor%20Keys\/relative%20minor-major%20a-c.png\" alt=\"Keyboard diagram showing three half-steps down from C to A with arrows.\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:10px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<iframe class=\"email-form-include-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/weekly-email\" frameborder=\"none\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Parallel Minor Keys<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A <strong>parallel minor key<\/strong> is a key that starts on the same note as the major key it&#8217;s &#8220;parallel&#8221; to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, for example, the parallel minor key of C Major is C Minor. And the parallel minor key of G Major is G Minor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s easier to sing something in a parallel key because you&#8217;re closer to the song&#8217;s original key. But you have to watch out for key signatures. Parallel keys don&#8217;t have the same numbers of sharps and flats!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, C Major has no sharps or flats, but C Minor has three flats because its relative major key is E Flat Major.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>G Major has one sharp, but G Minor has <em>two flats<\/em> because its relative major key is B Flat Major.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>More Minor Key Concepts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to learn more about minor keys, take a look at our other free lessons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/how-to-play-minor-scales-on-the-piano\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How to Play Minor Scales on the Piano<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/major-vs-minor-piano-chords\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Major vs. Minor Piano Chords<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/creating-minor-chord-progressions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Creating Beautiful Minor Chord Progressions<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/piano-music-theory\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Piano Music Theory That&#8217;s Actually Useful<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Otherwise, happy exploring and practicing!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What do major songs sound like in minor keys? Take a listen and learn all about the theory behind transposing songs to minor keys.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[510],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4897","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-theory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4897","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4897"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4897\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10398,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4897\/revisions\/10398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4897"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4897"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4897"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}