chords
Hi David,
Having obtained the chords of a song from say riffstation or chordify, how would you know from those chords what key the song is in. Hope this makes sense.
Thanks,
Paul
Hi David,
Thank you for your reply. How would this work where songs are not in the 12 bar blues, as an example, Give me the beat boys, by the Doobie Brothers. How would you work out the key of the song by just analaysing the chord progression. This is a skill I would like to develope.
Regards,
Paul
Hello Paul.
Go to Ryan Walker's lesson (https://www.bluesharmonica.com/contributor/ryan_walker) and watch the videos with the following tittles...
Lesson 5 - Figuring out the Key of a Song, Method 1: 2 Draw
Lesson 5 - Figuring out the Key of a Song, Method 2: Positions
Lesson 5 - Figuring out the Key of a Song, Method 3: C Scale
Lesson 5 - Figuring out the Key of a Song, Method 4: Chromatic Scale
Lesson 5 - Figuring out the Key and Position of a Harmonica in a Song, Part 1
Lesson 5 - Figuring out the Key and Position of a Harmonica in a Song, Part 2
In regards to chords, this skill set is taught in Music Theory Study 6 (https://www.bluesharmonica.com/lessons/music_theory_study_6_beyond_12_ba...), specifically page 9 onwards.
Hello Paul. Look at a verse or chorus and see what chord it starts and ends with, this is your largest indicator.
For example...
The 12 Bar Blues in the Key of G is (each letter name representing one bar in the progression)...
G G G G C C G G D C G G
So, in this case you start with the home chord of G and finish with the home chord of G.
Also play the note G and see if it sounds like it's the note of "resolution," no other note should sound as good and resolved as this note.
It's also helpful to Google a song title and ask what key it's in, you'll tend to have good luck with that.
Last case scenario... ask another musician buddy to give it a listen... I did that for many, many years until I had the skill set to do it myself.