Originally Posted by DesertTwang
Not a stupid question, and you are absolutely correct. Same notes in the major and its relative minor scale. Only the starting point is different. The key is to understand what the patterns of whole steps and half steps are in the scale. They are the only thing that determines whether the scale sounds minor or major (or mixolydian, or locrian, or any of the other modes, but that's for later).
Example:
C major scale: C - D - E_F- G - A - B_C
There is a half steps between the 3rd and the 4th note of the scale (we call them scale degrees), and also between the 7th and 8th scale degree. All the other steps are whole steps. This is the same pattern for any major scale. If you look at the C major chord, you'll see that the interval between the notes in the scale, C-E, is a major third, that's what makes the scale major.
Now take the same notes, but start on the A:
A - B_C - D - E_F- G - A. This is the A minor scale. Here's why:
Notice how the half steps have changed their positions this time: now they're at 2 - 3 and 5 - 6. The interval between A and C is a minor third, and that's what makes the scale (and corresponding chord) minor.
This is really all there is to it.
As to why the two scales sound different even though they contain the same notes, it's all about the starting and end points, which dictate where the whole steps and the half steps fall. Other than that, there is no difference.
This concept holds true for any key. You can map out what I did above for the G major scale, for example, and you will find that the same notes are in the E minor scale.
Once you understand this concept, a whole lot of chord progressions you have seen in songs suddenly start making sense. Try this: Next time you listen to a song in D major that has a minor chord in it, take your guitar and strum a B minor chord when it comes around. Chances are that'll be the one! Try the same with a song in G major, and strum an E minor chord once the minor rolls around. In 90% of the cases (at least in most rock and folk type tunes), you'll be spot on.
More often than not, when a song written in a major key goes to a minor, it'll be the relative minor of that key. Which, by the way, if you look at the scale patterns above, always falls on the 6th degree of the scale. Therefore, if you look at notations of songs written in the Nashville Number system, you'll often see the relative minor chord written out as "6m". Or you might be in a jam where the song leader says something like, "It starts on the I chord, then goes to the IV chord, and after that, there's a quick change to the minor 6." If you know the "secret" behind relative minors and majors, you'll be able to jump right into that jam even if you have never heard or played that song before. You don't even have to ask what chord to play, because you understand the music theory behind it.
These things are not random.
Hope this helps!
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