Key of song?

[Jakes452]

How do you tell the key of a song from the sheet music? Is it the first
chord shown in the Verse.
thanks

[Jurupari]

>How do you tell the key of a song from the sheet music? Is it the first
>chord shown in the Verse.
>thanks

Not often enough to rely on since it's only one of a whole lot of ways to write
a song, and not the most frequently seen. By 'verse' I take it you mean 'A
section'.

Hopefully the key sig will be noted, but if not, you have to look at the
cadences and accidentals and bass notes and listen to them and figure it out.

Usually the bass notes in the first 8 bars will tell you what key your'e in -
the chords on top may be different, but they will mostly be in the same key,
the way standards are written.

Clif Kuplen

[Rbsoul]

Look at the key signature on the staff. If it is the key of C there will be no
sharps or flats.
1 flat = F
2 flats = Bb
3 flats = Eb
4 flats = Ab
5 flats = Db
6 flats = Gb
7 flats = Cb
1 sharp = G
2 sharps = D
3 sharps = A
4 sharps = E
5 sharps = B
6 sharps = F#
7 sharps = C#
Ken Willinger
Hear my clips at:
http://www.soundclick.com/kenwillinger

[Jakes452]

that was a great help...thank you!
"Rbsoul" <rbs...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20040110210406...@mb-m11.aol.com...

[Kurt Shapiro]

Or it may be the relative minor of one of these.

"Rbsoul" <rbs...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20040110210406...@mb-m11.aol.com...

[thom_j]

Besides the other help this may help too?
This site works in the circle 5ths, not circle of 4ths, but if you
per chance you dont know the difference dont worry. This is
only a starting place... You are just looking for sharps/flats in
a song, aka key of a song, etc, so here:
http://www.torvund.net/guitar/Theory/23-Circle_of_fifth.asp
good luck.. thom_j.

"Jakes452" <jake...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:a02Mb.9971$6l1.6012@okepread03...

[thom_j]

p.s. I have seen many Epi Sheraton II on eBay going for around
$400.. Even for us lefties 8^).. cheers thom_j.

"thom_j" <thom_...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1tSdnfelwZw...@comcast.com...

[Rbsoul]

<< Or it may be the relative minor of one of these. >>

I was thinking I should include that to the original poster. Here it is:
The relative minor of:
C is Am
G is Em
D is Bm
A is F#m
E is C#m
B is G#m
F# is D#m
C# is A#m
F is Dm
Bb is Gm
Eb is Cm
Ab is Fm
Db is Bbm
Gb is Ebm
Cb is Abm
Also useful to know is the sequence of sharps or flats in the key signature:
Sharps:
F# C# G# D# A# E# B#
Flats:
Bb Eb Ab Db Gb Cb Fb

[Joey Goldstein]

Assuming that the writer of the sheet music knows what they are doing,
the key will usually be indicated by the key signature, as the others
here (Rbsoul and Kurt) have explained.

But sometimes the key signature does not accurately reflect the key the
music is in. In cases like these you have to have more personal
experience with music in order to determine the actual key.

For instance... There is a discussion on rec.music.theory right now
about a chart for Scarborough Fair that has the key signature as a minor
key. But the melody is all dorian, so every instance of the 6th scale
degree is marked as being raised a semitone. The writer could just as
easily used a key signature from the parent major scale of the dorian
mode and these raised 6ths would not have been needed.
Eg. A melody in the key of D minor but with a dorian scale choice (i.e.
all B's are natural) could be written with a key signature of D minor (1
flat) or C major (no flats or sharps).
The former more correctly indicates the actual key of the music in my
opinion.
The latter is easier to write and to read.
Both ways of writing are in common usage.
I.e. Sometimes the key signature is selected just to make the reading
and writing of the music simpler even if it obscures the true key of the music.

[gtrmon]

It's simpler than this to get the key from the signature. The key is a half
step higher than the final #, and it's a 4th lower than the last flat or the
same as the next to last flat. The key of F only has one flat, so the 4th
lower (or 5th higher than the last flat is more universal, but it's possible
to memorize that key of F has 1 flat and go with the next to last route.
BTW, a 4th lower is one string over toward the bass side at the same fret on
any of of the strings except if you calculate from the B string or the low
E. The relative minor is 3 frets lower than the major if you need to
calculate the minor key signature.
Hope you're thoroughly confused now.

Don Judy

"Jakes452" <jake...@aol.com> wrote in message

news:BN4Mb.9986$6l1.3104@okepread03...

[Bob Agnew]

I usually ask the drummer, he's the only one who ever seems to know. ;-)

"Jakes452" <jake...@aol.com> wrote in message

news:a02Mb.9971$6l1.6012@okepread03...

[thom_j]

yea, he always plays in H# or Hb....8^)'... t.j.

"Bob Agnew" <rag...@cox.net> wrote in message
news:ZSpMb.43801$i55.9156@fed1read06...

[Bob Agnew]

Xb sometimes.

"thom_j" <thom_...@yahoo.com> wrote in message

news:wNCdnTRNW4X...@comcast.com...

[Oscar Bearinger]

In article <wNCdnTRNW4X...@comcast.com>, thom_...@yahoo.com
says...

>
> yea, he always plays in H# or Hb....8^)'... t.j.
>
> "Bob Agnew" <rag...@cox.net> wrote in message
>news:ZSpMb.43801$i55.9156@fed1read06...
> > I usually ask the drummer, he's the only one who ever seems to know.
>;-)

LOL but he never plays diminished. it's always augmented H#, augmented R,
one time he even started in Yaug and modulated to Z. i didn't hear that,
had my ear plugs in by then.

O;)scar

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