What Key?

[Larsson]

Hey guys!

 

so i have never known how to work out what key a song is in and was wondering how to work it out?

 

i want to improvise sections on the Godfather but i dont know what key its in.....

 

could any of you guys help me out here, how do i work out the key of a song? what key is the Godfather in?

 

any feedback is, as always, greatly appreciated!

 

Cheers,

 

Larsson

[GIANTRobOT42O]

root to the fruit

[Artie Owl]

Well, typically, but not always, the key of a song can be detected by the first chord. This isn't always the case but in your basic progressions it tends to be the case. (I think).

 

So, from there you can take that chord and work out the chords in the key of ©

 

So the root notes of C are the 1st, 3rd and 5th notes of a C major scale (C, E, G) That makes up a C chord,

 

then the chords that go with C are;

 

D minor, E minor, Fmaj, Gmaj, A minor, B 7th, and back to C maj(the octaive)

 

So, using this logic, (if the song you wanted was in the Key of C with no sharps or flats) any of those chords or scales would work with the piece.

 

This can be applied to any chord if you know what #'s or b's it has for instance;

 

C has no sharps or flats (#'s or b's)

 

F has one flat (Bb) so;

 

F, A, C are the three notes that make up a basic F chord.

 

The chords that I listed above go Major, minor, minor, major, major, minor, 7th, maj (octaive)

 

so the chords in the key of F are;

 

F maj, G minor, A minor, Bb major, C major, D minor, E7th, F maj (octaive)

 

and so on.

 

Good luck!

[TommyK]

Normally, in western music, a song ends on the note for which the key is named. i.e. If it's the Key of C, then the last note of the song is "C". Also, in most cases, the named note is the last note of a phrase, as in the chorus. So, sing the chorus to it's final note, then hold that note then match it on your fret board.

 

Works every time.

[BigKahune]

What Key?

 

Brass -. . . . B)

[WahKeen]

You lose old key, you get no noo key.

[FirstMeasure]

Find the Root and the Third.

[Artie Owl]

Did what I write make sense? I'm pretty sure it's right I just don't know if I explained it well

[FirstMeasure]

Yes, That's a pretty darn good explanation. When your reading music that really makes sense.

[Artie Owl]

Yes, That's a pretty darn good explanation. When your reading music that really makes sense.

Thanks FM! I'm still trying to get it down pat, I've been learning it from my Guitar teacher, and they say the best way to learn is to teach, so I'm trying to do that.

[BigKahune]

We're just funnin' AO. You cool. B)

[Artie Owl]

haha Rad. I just joined the over 1000 posts club too

[badbluesplayer]

If you're talking about the Godfather Theme Song, it starts and ends on the root note.

[mcmurray]

Best way to determine the key is to hear it. Listen for the most stable note in the piece of music, that's your key.

 

Or you can wait until the end as TommyK suggested.

[badbluesplayer]

Best way to determine the key is to hear it. Listen for the most stable note in the piece of music, that's your key.

 

Or you can wait until the end as TommyK suggested.

 

+1

 

I like to think about it like this. Whatever key the song is in, you could play that one note during the whole song and it would sound fine. Like if the bass player had to play one note during the whole song he would play that note - the note that's the key of the tune. Does that make sense?

[rocketman]

Are you talking about this?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8RDMiwlUGM

 

This is in the key of Cmin. The melody actually starts on a G note with Cmin moving to Fmin underneath. The first three notes are G, C and Eb.

[cookieman15061]

+1

 

I like to think about it like this. Whatever key the song is in, you could play that one note during the whole song and it would sound fine. Like if the bass player had to play one note during the whole song he would play that note - the note that's the key of the tune. Does that make sense?

 

Yes and if you're just learning use your low E string and slowly slide up the neck until you find that one note that meshes with the key of the song. WALLAH! BINGO! When you find the key you'll know it.

[Versatile]

Establishing the key comes with experience....sometimes but not always the first chord. Some tunes move through more than one key (just to confuse the issue!) With experience you can look for chord patterns which belong in a particular key. One clue can be to look for dominant 7th chords which are the 5th of the key ie B7 places the key as E (could be major or minor). Blues can confuse (yes I am a poet too) as often all the chords are 7th chords. Reading a music score will always indicate the key with the key signature at the beginning, but major and minor need a little more understanding. It's worth a bit of study and begs the eternal question...whether to learn to read music and study some basic theory.

[mcmurray]

+1

 

I like to think about it like this. Whatever key the song is in, you could play that one note during the whole song and it would sound fine. Like if the bass player had to play one note during the whole song he would play that note - the note that's the key of the tune. Does that make sense?

 

It makes a whole lot of sense. That's a great way to describe it.

 

In fact, the intro and verses of "Live Wire" by ACDC is a textbook example of what you've described.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_lZGYHBAfU

[Doin Montary]

i always had trouble playing by ear, i generally look up the chord charts online and (cheat) learn the song that way, once i know the chords i can either figure out " the key " or/and play a scale for each chord change, however that approach is generally choppy (arpegiated) and not melodic. After taking all that into consideration, i play the tune 1000 times and i am still working on it.

[S t e v e]

Hey guys!

 

so i have never known how to work out what key a song is in and was wondering how to work it out?

 

i want to improvise sections on the Godfather but i dont know what key its in.....

 

could any of you guys help me out here, how do i work out the key of a song? what key is the Godfather in?

 

any feedback is, as always, greatly appreciated!

 

Cheers,

 

Larsson

 

play the theme on cd or whatever and strum a few chords till you find the right one, after a few months of doing this for all types of music you will find it easier to recognise the key the song is transcribed in B)

[mcmurray]

i always had trouble playing by ear, i generally look up the chord charts online and (cheat) learn the song that way, once i know the chords i can either figure out " the key " or/and play a scale for each chord change, however that approach is generally choppy (arpegiated) and not melodic. After taking all that into consideration, i play the tune 1000 times and i am still working on it.

 

You're doing it wrong. The same scale is generally used over all chords unless you're talking about Jazz.

 

See this thread;

 

http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/55422-for-those-who-want-to-play-by-ear-but-cant/