Question about Song Keys

[PeeJay150]

This may seem like a dumb question to most of you but how do you figure out what key a song is? Do you just have listen and know, can you tell if you know how to play it, or is it something magical I don't know about yet. Any help would be greatly appreceiated.

Phil

[dmbguitar718]

You have to be fairly familiar with theory, and it's not always easy to tell. When looking at a transcription (not tab) you can tell the key by looking at the number of sharps or flats. Of course you can also do it with a tab, but you'll have to work it out.

[mangold]

if its a basic chording song then you can just see what chords coorespond to the notes in a chord... like if the chord progression in the song is B, D, then G than the key is G because those are the notes in a G chord.

[littlefriend]

Well, there's a bit more to it than that. The G chord appears in more than just the key of G. A G chord appears in the keys of C, D, and G. In fact, if the chords are B, D & G the song is definitely NOT in G. You can't define the key of a song based on one chord, or sometimes even two chords.

For major keys there is a pattern of Maj, min, min, Maj, Maj, min, dim.
So, the key of G is comprised of G, Am, Bm, C, D, Em, and Fdim. No B.

That's the gist.

There's a site that gives a pretty good over-view of theory here.

[mdel21]

guess you have like a 1 in 24 shot of being right

[fatjack]

if its a basic chording song then you can just see what chords coorespond to the notes in a chord... like if the chord progression in the song is B, D, then G than the key is G because those are the notes in a G chord.

hmmm... this harkens back to the harmonica thread when you thought you knew what you were talking about

[MWR]

if its a basic chording song then you can just see what chords coorespond to the notes in a chord... like if the chord progression in the song is B, D, then G than the key is G because those are the notes in a G chord.

If there's nothing challenging you technique-wise perhaps you should start learning some theory.


To answer the question there's no clear cut way to define the key. Of course a vast majority of songs will fit nicely into major or minor so you should start learning how many sharps/flats are in your guitar friendly keys. It's not really something that can be explained on a message board cause you'll undoubtedly get lots of misinformation a la Praisedave. Just start reading whatever you can.

[fatjack]

if its a basic chording song then you can just see what chords coorespond to the notes in a chord... like if the chord progression in the song is B, D, then G than the key is G because those are the notes in a G chord.

If there's nothing challenging you technique-wise perhaps you should start learning some theory.


To answer the question there's no clear cut way to define the key. Of course a vast majority of songs will fit nicely into major or minor so you should start learning how many sharps/flats are in your guitar friendly keys. It's not really something that can be explained on a message board cause you'll undoubtedly get lots of misinformation a la Praisedave. Just start reading whatever you can.

how about the key-defining tritone?

[MWR]

if its a basic chording song then you can just see what chords coorespond to the notes in a chord... like if the chord progression in the song is B, D, then G than the key is G because those are the notes in a G chord.

If there's nothing challenging you technique-wise perhaps you should start learning some theory.


To answer the question there's no clear cut way to define the key. Of course a vast majority of songs will fit nicely into major or minor so you should start learning how many sharps/flats are in your guitar friendly keys. It's not really something that can be explained on a message board cause you'll undoubtedly get lots of misinformation a la Praisedave. Just start reading whatever you can.

how about the key-defining tritone?

How about you shut the hell up.

[fatjack]

if its a basic chording song then you can just see what chords coorespond to the notes in a chord... like if the chord progression in the song is B, D, then G than the key is G because those are the notes in a G chord.

If there's nothing challenging you technique-wise perhaps you should start learning some theory.


To answer the question there's no clear cut way to define the key. Of course a vast majority of songs will fit nicely into major or minor so you should start learning how many sharps/flats are in your guitar friendly keys. It's not really something that can be explained on a message board cause you'll undoubtedly get lots of misinformation a la Praisedave. Just start reading whatever you can.

how about the key-defining tritone?

How about you shut the hell up.

glad you took it well, i was wondering if you were gonna try to argue that one

[MWR]

if its a basic chording song then you can just see what chords coorespond to the notes in a chord... like if the chord progression in the song is B, D, then G than the key is G because those are the notes in a G chord.

If there's nothing challenging you technique-wise perhaps you should start learning some theory.


To answer the question there's no clear cut way to define the key. Of course a vast majority of songs will fit nicely into major or minor so you should start learning how many sharps/flats are in your guitar friendly keys. It's not really something that can be explained on a message board cause you'll undoubtedly get lots of misinformation a la Praisedave. Just start reading whatever you can.

how about the key-defining tritone?

How about you shut the hell up.

glad you took it well, i was wondering if you were gonna try to argue that one

I wrote that second line to avoid a one sentace contradiction but it didn't work out that well.

[mangold]

if its a basic chording song then you can just see what chords coorespond to the notes in a chord... like if the chord progression in the song is B, D, then G than the key is G because those are the notes in a G chord.

hmmm... this harkens back to the harmonica thread when you thought you knew what you were talking about

JESUS FUCKIN CHRIST! these boards are goin to goddamn hell! how many god damn fuckin times do i have to tell you that I DID NOT MAKE THAT LIST YOU ASSWIPE. everyone accuses me of being some cocky know it all bastard, i dont claim to know much of anything outside of the fuckin instruments forum and im really fuckin tired of it. i remember when this site used to be fun. now i doublecheck everyfuckin thing i post to make sure theres not some way somebody else can take it that will offend them or give them the wrong idea of me. dont you assholes have anything better to do with your fuckin lives than come to this board and act like A GODDAMN FUCKING DOUCHEBAG to everyone you encounter to vent what i assume must be your sucky life? WHAT THE FUCK! It wouldnt fuckin kill you to have some goddamn common courtesy.

now for a moment lets ignore the rudeness and assholism that so abounds in your post and look at its content... because surely if you are gonna be that big of an asshole there must be some golden knowledge hidden in there. hmmmmm... o wait, there was nothing wrong with what i said... it appears you just wanted to bring up another thread in which i said nothing wrong in order to try and make me look like an idiot. FUCK OFF YOU GODDAMN MOTHER FUCKER. im tryin to help people, as was the goal of the harmonica thread and my post in this thread. in fact, thats the case with most of my posts, whereas with your posts the goal always seems to mock people and allude to this incredible knowledge you possess, and yet you NEVER use it to help anyone ever. either you are a seriously fucked up human being or you just act like an asshole online for no reason.

now back to the thread topic: its also a fairly good chance that whatever chord a basic song starts and ends on is the key.

[mangold]

if its a basic chording song then you can just see what chords coorespond to the notes in a chord... like if the chord progression in the song is B, D, then G than the key is G because those are the notes in a G chord.

If there's nothing challenging you technique-wise perhaps you should start learning some theory.


To answer the question there's no clear cut way to define the key. Of course a vast majority of songs will fit nicely into major or minor so you should start learning how many sharps/flats are in your guitar friendly keys. It's not really something that can be explained on a message board cause you'll undoubtedly get lots of misinformation a la Praisedave. Just start reading whatever you can.

i gave no mis-information you self-riteous douche.
and look, you gave no information. are you so above him that he doesnt deserve your knowledge? post a link or explain it. and dont give me some bullshit about you not being able to explain it because all hes gonna get in a book is text and you can type just fine right there.

edit: and oh yeah the cheap shot about my knowledge of theory is unnecessary, i dont claim to have any knowledge of theory,

[i am sam2]

lets just chill out

[mangold]

sorry to pollute the boards, but im pissed