Key - the high-altitude position of the fret. The name of the key indicates the main tone, indicating the pitch (C, E-flat, G-sharp …), and the name of the scale (Major, Minor, Dorian, Mixolydian). Most of the works of both classical and pop-jazz and folk genres have a clearly expressed tonality. The main skill required in determining it is ear for music.
Instructions
Step 1
When constructing a musical period (part of a piece), chords are usually arranged in the following order: T - S - D - T. The first and last chords correspond to the tonic chord, which is built on the first step of the scale. The whole tonality is called according to this first step. When playing a song, loop your performance over the first measure of the piece so that you only hear the first chord.
Step 2
Listen to the bass line. As a rule, songs use chords in the basic (non-inverted) form, that is, the bass plays the first step. Pick it up on any instrument (piano, guitar) in the octave available for performance. Take your time, move up or down one step at a time until the sound on your instrument matches the original. You will find it sooner or later. Write it down on paper. Notes on black keys are written in two words, hyphenated: C sharp, E flat, F sharp, B flat.
Step 3
Listen to the coloring of the first chord in the song. Major and Minor are the most frequently used modes, it is very difficult to confuse them with each other. By your mood, you can understand which mood is in front of you: an upbeat major or a brooding, alarming minor. But, if you have doubts, then keep in mind one fact: some of the steps in major sound as if overstated, raised. The name of the fret is written in a separate second (third) word after the name of the note, for example: C sharp minor, D major, G minor, B flat major.
Step 4
Listen to the entire song two or three times. From the second listening, play along with the chords that you can guess. In this way, you find out if a piece is written in one key or if there is modulation in it. In a number of songs, the change in key is associated with the climax and is located a little later than the middle: before the instrumental loss, right in it, or before the final verse.
