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Parallel Major and Minor Worksheet (Printable, with Answers)

Free printable parallel major and minor worksheet: compare keys with the same tonic, find the changed degrees, write both scales. Answer key included.

Parallel Major and Minor Worksheet (Printable, with Answers)

Sheet #

Name Date Score /

    Answer key

    Parallel Major and Minor Worksheet (Printable, with Answers) · Sheet #

      How to use it

      1. Choose the exercise type and which form of the minor scale to compare with the major scale.
      2. Answer each question by listing degrees or notes, writing a scale, or naming a key signature.
      3. Press Show answers: each explanation lines up the two scales note by note.
      4. Print the questions and the answer page, or press New sheet for a new set.

      What this worksheet practises#

      Parallel keys have the same tonic: C major and C minor, D major and D minor. Comparing them shows exactly what makes a minor scale sound minor. The questions ask you to:

      • say which degrees must be lowered to turn a major scale into the minor, or raised to go the other way;
      • list the notes that are not shared;
      • count how many notes the two scales have in common;
      • write the parallel scale on the staff, using accidentals;
      • name the key signature of the parallel key.

      Method#

      Write out both scales and compare them degree by degree, not by pitch alone: the letters line up, so D major (D E F♯ G A B C♯) against D natural minor (D E F G A B♭ C) differs on degrees 3, 6 and 7. The minor form you pick controls how many degrees change: three for natural, two for harmonic, one for ascending melodic.

      What each level contains#

      • Easy: C, G, D and A (both the major and the minor key have at most three sharps or flats). If a type of exercise has too few questions, the sheet widens the key list slightly.
      • Medium: both keys have at most five sharps or flats (adds E, B, F, B♭).
      • Hard: at most seven for both keys (adds F♯, C♯, E♭, A♭). Keys whose parallel minor would need double flats are not used.

      Frequently asked questions

      What are parallel major and minor keys?

      Keys that share a tonic but not a key signature, such as C major and C minor. They are different from relative keys, which share a key signature but have different tonics.

      Which degrees differ between a major scale and its parallel natural minor?

      The 3rd, 6th and 7th degrees are a half step lower in natural minor. In C: E, A, B in C major become E♭, A♭, B♭ in C natural minor.

      How do harmonic and melodic minor change the comparison?

      Harmonic minor keeps the major 7th, so only the 3rd and 6th differ from major. Ascending melodic minor keeps the major 6th and 7th, so only the 3rd differs.

      How many sharps or flats does a parallel key have?

      Going from a major key to its parallel minor adds three flats (or removes three sharps) to the key signature: C major has none and C minor has three flats; A major has three sharps and A minor has none.

      Which keys appear at each level?

      The keys must have a key signature of at most 3 (easy), 5 (medium) or 7 (hard) sharps or flats for both the major and the minor. That gives C, G, D and A at easy level; the hard level adds keys such as F♯, C♯, E♭ and A♭.

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      Reference