It’s all relative

When does a relative major become a relative minor?

In a divorce?

Anyone confused by the term 'related keys' in music, don’t be. These are purely keys that share the same key signatures, (those cute little sharps and flats), but with the tonal centres being different. C major and A minor are related for example, although may be that's not the best choice in this instance, because their key signatures have neither sharps nor flats! However, play both their root chords and you will hear that striking difference. Switching to a related major or minor key is a cool songwriting device and can be a useful tool for improvising too. 

Inside our songwriting journal we’ve created a Circle of Fifths chart which illustrates this within it and will help you wrap your head around all the related keys. Go experiment brothers and sisters...