How to determine the key of a song by notes and by ear?

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

If you know how to determine the key of a piece of music, then it will not be difficult for you to choose an alternative accompaniment or translate the song a semitone higher. There are several ways to determine the key, allowing you to quite accurately determine the height of the frets, including without a musical row in front of your eyes.

What is key?

Knowing how to define key is of no use if the musician doesn't understand what it is. Pay attention to the following concepts:

• Fine. A sound sequence built according to a certain algorithm (for example, do-re-mi-fa-sol-la-si, as in C major (C-dur). The pitch intervals between notes and the principles of transitions determine the nature of the mode. Major modes are used in light, solemn compositions, minor - to convey longing, sadness, lyrical mood.
• Tonic. The "reference" note, which determines the pitch of all the main notes in the fret.

The fret together with the tonic is calledtonality: these are sounds located in a specific order, at a height given by the main stable note.

Dynamic tonality of works

Starting to experiment with setting the key, even novice musicians notice that it often changes in the same song. The beginning and ending sound in the same tone; in the center of the composition, the sound can go up or down to create a sound variety and enhance the emotional accents of the piece.

Here's how to determine the key in popular songs: analyze the verse and chorus separately, if they match, pay attention to the final part of the melody. For singers and tenor vocalists, a repeat of the chorus one tone higher is often added at the end: in this way, 2-3 keys can be combined in one song, usually with a single sound color (major or minor).

In classical compositions, the number of tone transitions is unlimited; in addition, major or minor sounding can replace each other. There is no question here of how to determine the key of the whole work: choose fragments that have a complete sound and analyze them separately from each other.

Finding the tonality from the musical scale

Even if you are just starting to work with a sheet of music, try to figure out how to determine the key from the notes:

1. Check the accidentals on the key. They point to key in major and its "parallel" version in minor. Keep in mind that accidentals can change: these areindicated in the notes, in places of transition to another key.
2. Find a tonic. As a rule, this is a note that completes a composition or piece of music. In the accompanying parts, the tonic is easy to find by paying attention to the repeated triads: they not only contain the base note, but also reproduce the structure of the mode.
3. Determine the key by the tonic: in the "extra" version there will be no such note as a starting point.

The accompaniment notes will be of great help, as the accompaniment parts always have a harmonious ending. Even if the passage or song ends with more than one note, the final chord will contain the root as a support.

If there were no notes at hand

For vocalists and improvisational musicians, it is important to know how to determine the key of a song without notes. Trust your musical ear and follow the instructions:

1. Major or minor? You already know that the key mark determines the mood of the song. The general character of the composition will tell you the inclination of the mode: for example, minor, as in classic love ballads.
2. Find a tonic. To determine the base note, listen carefully or sing along to the song. This is the sound that you want to end a musical phrase with. Found? Now pluck the piano keys or guitar strings until you find the same sound. The selected note will be the tonic.

Now just put the information together. If the work has a pronounced major character and it “relies” on the note “D”, then this is the key of “D Major”.