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Which keys are parallel to C major and C minor?
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scale
The universality and innate nature of music, and the pentatonic scale, as demonstrated by singer Bobby McFerrin.
In music theory, parallel keys are defined as those that share the same tonic (or initial) note but differ in their scale structure (major versus minor).1
- The parallel key of C major is C minor.1
- The parallel key of C minor is C major.1
It is important to distinguish this from relative keys, which share the same key signature rather than the same tonic. For example, the relative minor of C major is A minor, and the relative major of A minor is C major.1