iLListSniG

Hello everybody, new here to the site and just wanted to introduce myself here lol

But onto the topic....I would consider myself to know a fair amount of music theory knowledge (also including that I've played the trumpet for 6 years and some change)....What I want to know is, how can you tell which key a song is in?

 

Aqualung

I guess if you know music theory it would just be a matter of figuring out what sharps and flats are in the song, and then knowing which key corresponds to which combination? I don't know much theory, so that might not be sufficient.

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Here we go. Mushu cereal for breakfast with duck sauce.

MusicMan

Aqua is correct. But if you're just listening to a piece and can't hear what sharps and flats are used, you could always just pick out the root that the piece keeps returning to and then determine if it's major or minor and do the same for the Perfect chords like the IV and V and voila! you know the key.

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Cirrus_Minor

I just play along with a guitar, and basically just find the notes that fit the key. Once I have a couple of them down, I can kind of hear where in the scale I am, and determine what the root is.

Joel

Thats what I do as well. Once you find a scale that works you know the key, more or less.

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Metalhed08

I just go by ear and it comes to me, been playing 4 years and only now starting to learn the notes and that, always used to just play by ear.

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If I had a penny for every bum note I played, I'd be pretty god damn shit at guitar

Brain

Yepp, this is what I do aswell.

If you're reading notes you just check what flats and sharps are in the notes.. pretty easy.

james_het_rules

Lol i get lucky and then BOOM i know what to play.. its really weird because i have no knowledge of the theory of the force...

Viva La Music

I can see where everyone is coming from with the whole ear thing but in my honest opinion your just doing what aqua originally said without realizing it, so your using music theory without even knowing it!

On a side note I don't know a single scale on the guitar yet so, I'm sorry I'm a little busy watching MTV movie awards, Michal Myers is crazy...

HotaHota

First off, he goes by Mike Myers...not trying to be a wise guy here, but Michael Myers was the sadistic killer in friday the 13th.

But back on topic, I usually just grab my guitar, if it's chords, usually the first chord played is the key of the song (not always, but typically works)...and if it's not just strumming chords, i just try to play along and figure it out...

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Music Resource

What you are talking about and everyone is commenting about is the tonal center, root chord, and tonic. This is the main note or main chord of a song.

Like MusicMan said, it's the chord or note that the song "keeps wanting to return to".

It's usually the chord and the bass note that plays most often in a song.

If you're playing a solo using a particular scale and it doesn't sound like it fits, then you've probably zeroed in on a secondary chord rather than the root chord. While the secondary chord exists in the song, it isn't the tonal center. Sure you can play over it, but usually only while it's sounding.

On guitar, I use single notes on my 6th and 5th stings to hone in on the tonal center. Then I try muting chords along with what I think is the tonal center. This method of discovery has served me well for many years.