Keys

[Hamberg]

Whats the best way for remembering all of the sharps and flats in a key? How can you know what key your in if a song doesn't start on I and is only, for instance, 3 chords?

[tehplatypus]

figure out the melody of the song.....most modern rock songs today don't follow the normal majory key and opts instead for a dominant seventh and a kind of bastardized key that's somewhere between lydian(V) and ionian (I).

best way to remember all the flat and sharps is to just work on it...i guess for an easy trick....in the sharps, the last sharp written is 7th note of the scale. for flats, the second to last flat is the name of the key.

take for example the key of Ab maj has 4 flats: Bb, Eb, Ab, and Db.

and for sharps...the key of F# major has 6 sharps: F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, and E#.

for the examples, i listed the flats and sharps in the order that they're listed when you write out a key signature.

i will say though.....if a song has 3 chords, one of the chords is inevitably the one chord.....that doesn't necessarily mean is the one in the ionian mode, but there's a one chord...i wrote a song once in the lydian mode that went around the chords F, G, and dmin. the root chord of the scale i wrote the song in was F.

[Hamberg]

I appreciate you taking the time to answer my question. Unfortunately the explaination is beyond my scope of understanding. Is there a simple way that I can figure out the key. I'm asking mostly because I need to know what key we are in when my band is just jamming, or writing a song.

[tehplatypus]

I appreciate you taking the time to answer my question. Unfortunately the explaination is beyond my scope of understanding. Is there a simple way that I can figure out the key. I'm asking mostly because I need to know what key we are in when my band is just jamming, or writing a song.


yeah...that's why i'm not a teacher.....i have trouble communicating the information properly....my apologies. let's start off the easy way.....what do you know? that way i can actually try to better convey what i was trying to say.

[Hamberg]

I know that theres 7 notes in a progression I - VII. I know that a key signature defines the amount of sharps and/or flats. I know that the I chord is the tonic, and also defines the name of the key. I remember, just barely, something about a whole and half step pattern that applies to all keys and progressions. I know that the I and V chord are the resolving chords in a key. The other chords create dissonance. I IV and V is the most common progression in rock songs. I know the major scale, minor scale, pentatonic scale, and pentatonic blues scale patterns, but only when the I note is found on the low E string. I know that the I note is not always the tonal center although it usually is (I am assuming that this has something to do with modes which I havent even tried to understand as of yet.) I know that the VII can sound awesome or terrible. Most chords I and my band play are the Root and the 5th of that chord (power chords.) I know that a major scale and its relative minor contain the same notes exactly. I know how to modulate. I am familar with the circle of 5ths (but barely understanding.) I know how to read tabs. I understand time signatures, accidentals (I learned how to read music when I played saxophone but this was 10 years ago. I also learned on guitar but that was quickly forgotten.) Most things, other then basics in regard to theory, I have learned from research online; anything other then the basic techinques I have taught myself on guitar.

[Akira]

Search "The circle of fifths" in Google. Should help out a tad. :)

[Hamberg]

By memorizing the circle of fifths I will be able to recognize the key of a song?

[Akira]

Well you'll be able to recognise which key signatures have x amount of sharps/flats. The circle of fifths is also useful for if you're writing your own material. (For knowing which key's to change between etc).

Oh and in answer to your question, yes, you should be able to. You just analyse the song in question, find out what notes are in use, then see which key it fits in to.