When I teach relative minors to my students, I always end with a call and response of them giving the relative minors to a given major key.
I start with easier ones and build.
What’s the relative minor of C major? A minor
D Major? B minor
F Major? D minor
Ab major? F minor
A major? F# minor (The sharp will catch them for a minute.)
Eb Major? C minor
When they are settling in and their tempo increases, you get to this one:
Okay, what about the key of C-Flat Major. Every single note is flatted – seven flats! What’s the relative minor?
They think for a moment… Ab Minor.
And what do you get when you drop a piano down a mine shaft?
wait for it…
A Flat Miner.
It’s a terrible joke, but it helps the concept to stick. So I use it every single time.
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