Originally Posted by: shapertakhtalking of keys..........this brings me to yet another confusing thing.....
i did a progression that looked like this f#m Dmaj F#m Emaj
so..........things that i do know are
its the f# natural minor scale or simply the 6th mode of the D maj scale (ie the tonic scale)
am i in the key of D or f#????? :confused:
if its the key of f# then how do i associate this scale/mode with its tonic D scale????
shapi

I'll try not to confuse things and attempt to explain thoroughly. Dmaj and
Emaj chords played together would not be in the key of D, Dmaj and Em would;
F# natural minor (Aeolian) would not be the 6th mode of the D Major scale, it would be the 3rd mode (Phrygian). (F# is the 3rd of D)
F# natural minor (Aeolian) would be the 6th mode of the A Major scale.
F#m is the relative minor to A Major. So a I-IV-V chord progression in A Major would be Amaj-Dmaj-Emaj.
Your chord progression is based on the relative minor to A Major (F#m)
F#m-Dmaj-F#m-Emaj; which = i-VI-i-VII.
This progression would fit in the key of F#m.
It's important to understand that just because a progression starts with
F#m, doesn't automatically mean it's in the Key of F#m.
Example: By changing one chord in the F#m progression above, the progression could sound Major; F#m-Dmaj-Amaj-Emaj. The Amaj chord in this progression will overpower the F#m chord, taking on a Major tonality.
So instead of the progression being written as i-VI-III-VII, it would be written as follows; vi-IV-I-V. The "I" is Amaj, so this progression would lean stronger toward the key of A.
This is a basic explanation in grasping a concept to work from. There are many complexed options that can be used in creating progressions and the direction that the artist interprets them. That part comes in once the basic theory is comprehended, then you can build from there.
Hope this helps as a start in your journey.