We already know that each major scale has a relative minor scale. To better understand the relationships between major and minor keys, we will discuss parallel keys here.
Each major scale also has a parallel minor scale. For example, the parallel minor of C major is C minor. Both scales have the same first scale degree. When comparing the two scales together, you can see the third, sixth and seventh notes of the C minor scale is lowered by a half step.
Let’s look at another example: The parallel minor of G major is G minor.
G major scale notes are G – A – B – C – D – E – F♯ – G
G minor scale notes are G – A – B♭ – C – D – E♭ – F – G
The 3rd, 6th and 7th notes are lowered by a half step.
This applies to all 12 major keys. Below is a list of all 12 major keys and their corresponding parallel minor keys.
C Major Scale: C – D – E – F – G – A – B – C
C Minor Scale: C – D – E♭ – F – G – A♭ – B♭ – C
G Major Scale: G – A – B – C – D – E – F♯ – G
G Minor Scale: G – A – B♭ – C – D – E♭ – F – G
D Major Scale: D – E – F♯ – G – A – B – C♯ – D
D Minor Scale: D – E – F – G – A – B♭ – C – D
A Major Scale: A – B – C♯ – D – E – F♯ – G♯ – A
A Minor Scale: A – B – C – D – E – F – G – A
E Major Scale: E – F♯ – G♯ – A – B – C♯ – D♯ – E
E Minor Scale: E – F♯ – G – A – B – C – D – E
F Major Scale: F – G – A – B♭ – C – D – E – F
F Minor Scale: F – G – A♭ – B♭ – C – D♭ – E♭ – F
B Flat Major Scale: B♭ – C – D – E♭ – F – G – A – B♭
B Flat Minor Scale: B♭ – C – D♭ – E♭ – F – G♭ – A♭ – B♭
E Flat Major Scale: E♭ – F – G – A♭ – B♭ – C – D – E♭
E Flat Minor Scale: E♭ – F – G♭ – A♭ – B♭ – C♭ – D♭ – E♭
A Flat Major Scale: A♭ – B♭ – C – D♭ – E♭ – F – G – A♭
A Flat Minor Scale: A♭ – B♭ – C♭ – D♭ – E♭ – F♭ – G♭ – A♭
B Major Scale: B – C♯ – D♯ – E – F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – B
B Minor Scale: B – C♯ – D – E – F♯ – G – A – B
F Sharp Major Scale: F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – B – C♯ – D♯ – E♯ – F♯
F Sharp Minor Scale: F♯ – G♯ – A – B – C♯ – D – E – F♯
C Sharp Major Scale: C♯ – D♯ – E♯ – F♯ – G♯ – A♯ – B♯ – C♯
C Sharp Minor Scale: C♯ – D♯ – E – F♯ – G♯ – A – B – C♯
Piano Music Theory 