UNDERSTANDING MUSIC KEYS HOW TO
UNDERSTANDING MUSIC KEYS DOWNLOAD

Each row shows the notes used in a scale.Eg: ‘C’ means the ‘key of C’ or ‘the C Major Scale’

The far left column shows the key as Major scales.

The below table shows the main chords used in any key: Simply taking a look at the chords used can often give you everything you need to know to figure out the key of a song. This method works well when you’re playing a song that is mostly chord-based. The next way you can find the key of a song is to look at the chords used in the song. If the sheet music doesn’t include any key signatures, you’ll have to use one of the other methods. The main point to keep in mind with this method is that if the sheet music for the song uses key signatures, you can quickly find out what the key of the song is using the table shown above. Double-check the key using one of the other methods covered in this guide. If you see sheet music without any key signatures, don’t immediately assume the song is in the key of C. So the sheet music could be telling you the song is in the key of C, or it may not use key signatures at all.

This can trick some people as the key signature for C Major (or A minor) uses no sharps or flats.

UNDERSTANDING MUSIC KEYS DOWNLOAD

If you download any sheet music on some popular Guitar TAB websites, you may find that the sheet music doesn’t use key signatures at all. Key signatures are an easy way to find the key of any song, but only if the sheet music uses them. So in the above example, you would say that the song is in the key of A (or A Major) or you would say the song is in the key of F# (F Sharp) minor if you know the song is based on minor. The above key signature uses three sharp symbols and in the above table, you can see that three sharp symbols mean the key is either A Major or F# (F Sharp) minor. Take a look at the below key signature and figure out what the key is using the above table: But both scales always use the same notes (eg: the C Major Scale and A minor Scale use the same notes). Note: whether a key is Major or minor is covered later in this guide. So for example, if you see a key signature with one sharp symbol, that means the key of the song is either G Major or E minor (both G Major and E minor scales use the same notes). The below table shows all of the possible key signatures you might see and what they mean:

UNDERSTANDING MUSIC KEYS HOW TO

How to Read Key SignaturesĪll you need to do to read key signatures is to count the number of sharps or flats you see. Let’s look at how to read these key signatures so you can easily find out the key of any song that use them. Here is an example of a key signature you might see using flats: Key signatures can use either sharps or flats depending on the key of the song. You can see that the above example shows two sharp symbols as the key signature. The key signature is shown on sheet music after the clef and before the time signature: Not all sheet music will use key signatures, but when they do, they’re the easiest way of finding a song’s key. The first and easiest way to find the key of a song is to look at the sheet music for the song and find any key signatures.Ī key signature is a way of letting you know key the song (or part of the song). If you suspect a song might change keys at some point, use the below methods to check if it does or not. You can usually tell when a song changes keys as there is often a dramatic change in the feel of the song and the song suddenly starts using different chords or notes. It is also important to understand that while some songs will stick to one key, other songs can change keys once or multiple times. The methods explained in this guide will help you figure out the key of any song – even if that song doesn’t stick perfectly to one key. The song can easily make use of notes and chords outside of the key. But just because the song is in the key of C, it doesn’t mean it must stick to those notes. If a song is in the key of C, it means there are no sharp or flat notes ( take a look at the C Major Scale to learn more). It’s important to understand that some songs stick perfectly to a key, while others don’t. With practice, you can learn to find the key of any song on your own. Knowing the key of a song is useful because it instantly gives you a lot of information about the chords and notes the song will likely use. If the song is in the key of D, the notes and chords would be based on the D Major Scale.

If a song is in the key of C, the notes and chords used will be based on the C Major Scale. The key of a song is a shortcut to help you understand what chords and notes the song is based on. 6.6 Related Guides and Lessons: What is the Key of a Song?

Understanding music keys