Brainlag MusicThe keys a Grade 6 melody may move to, and how a chord that belongs to both keys makes the move smooth.
Three related keys
Question 3 may ask your melody to move to the dominant, the subdominant or the relative key.
Learn the related keys by heart
- Dominant: the key a 5th up: one more sharp, or one flat fewer.
- Subdominant: the key a 5th down: one sharp fewer, or one more flat.
- Relative: the same key signature, the other mode (C major and A minor).
They are "related" because they share all but one note with the home key (the relative shares every note of the key signature). That is why the move sounds natural: most of the notes stay the same, and one new note tells the ear where the music has gone.
You try What is the relative minor of D major?
Show the answer
B minor. It has the same key signature, two sharps.
The rest of this lesson and its 5 practice questions are in Brainlag Music Theory.
Screen 1 of 3, free to read.
- 5 exam-style questions, marked as you go, each with a worked solution
- Anything you get wrong is saved to your flashcards