Make Any Progression Sound Epic With This Relative Minor Swap

Learn relative minor reharmonization, suspended chords, inversions & cadences in this piano harmony lesson with Jason Zac. In this piano harmony lesson, Jason Zac from Nathaniel School of Music breaks down a powerful reharmonization technique — toggling between major chords and their relative minors. It's an age-old trick that instantly transforms the mood of any chord progression. We work through an 8-chord progression using second inversion voicings, starting from C major and travelling through D, Bb, Am, Ab, Bb, and back to a Csus4 → C resolution. Along the way, Jason adds a flowing melodic motif that ties the harmony together and teaches you how to use chord inversions musically. The lesson also explores suspended chords (sus4) and how they resolve beautifully to both major AND minor tonic chords. You'll learn multiple cadence options — plagal (IV-I), authentic (V-I), and surprise endings using the mediant (bIII). Plus, we touch on key modulation by treating the tonic as the dominant of the next key — a simple but incredibly useful pivot technique. The core concept: any chord in your progression can be swapped with its relative minor (or relative major) to create a fresh emotional colour. C major ↔ A minor, D major ↔ B minor, Bb major ↔ G minor, Ab major ↔ F minor. Once you internalize these relationships, you can reharmonize on the fly using your ear. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell icon for regular piano lessons covering theory, harmony, improvisation, and ear training. Share this with a fellow pianist who'd love to expand their harmonic vocabulary! 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) - https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🏡 Visit our Channel for more Tutorials & Performances - https://geni.us/NathanielYouTube ============================= ▶️ Related Videos & Playlists 🎬 Arpeggios, Inversions & Hand Independence - https://youtu.be/e9Xqa_ibLeg 🎯 Interesting Facts About Chord Inversions - https://youtu.be/SSc19Czmvzg 🔑 Slash Chords vs Piano Inversions - https://youtu.be/UhO-cWQLC-k 💡 Construct Chords for Any Melody - https://youtu.be/uXIUYZYP_5g 📂 Cadences & Chord Progressions - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT_sKjWd1c7K_S55cZ15jAKI ============================= 🎓 Learn Music With Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac: https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) categorised by skill level, topic & genre all in one place: https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏳ Chapter markers 00:00 - Performance 00:34 - Introduction & What This Lesson Covers 04:13 - The Bare Bones Progression 07:13 - Playing the Full Progression Together 08:21 - Letting Your Ear Guide the Modulation 08:44 - Cadences: Predominant & Dominant Resolutions 🎵 09:36 - The Plagal Cadence (IV → I) 09:54 - The Authentic / Perfect Cadence (V → I) 10:23 - Surprise Endings with the Mediant 10:54 - Relative Minor Reharmonization Concept ✨ 11:25 - Relative Major & Minor Key Swaps 🎵 14:16 - Why You Need to Know Both Directions 15:01 - Suspended Chords as Connective Tissue 15:31 - Endless Progression by Modulating Keys 16:35 - Minor 2-5-1 Resolution to C Minor 17:40 - Recap & Final Thoughts 18:10 - Outro — Like, Share & Subscribe 🙏 💰 Donate on PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 +917760456847 (Mobile & WhatsApp) 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/ #RelativeMinor #Reharmonization #PianoHarmony