Telling the Key of a Song – How Is It Done?
Every piece of music is written in one key or another, such as the key of Bb or the key of E or whatever. The key signature at the beginning of a score tells what sharps or flats are being used in the song, and therefore what scale the song is based on.
A key signature is included in each and every musical piece. This information is written right after the clef (shown on the staff) and is explained with symbols stating the number of flats (b) and the number of sharps (#). As you look over the beginning of the lines of music you will recognize a grouping of flats and sharps, which are not ever used simultaneously. They will appear separately on a space or on a line of the music staff and will be placed with the specific notes that will be affected by them. For example, if the music is to played using an F#, the sharp symbol, the #, will be placed on the top line of the staff. This will tell the person that is reading the music that each time an F is played, no matter if it is on top of the staff, in the first space, or below or able the staff (indicated by the ledger lines), this note should be placed as F#.
If the music requires that the note be played in a different way, not as a flat or sharp as indicated in the key signature, there will be an accidental just in front of the note to indicate it being played as a natural note. An example of this would be if the piece has been indicated to play all F notes as sharp but in one section it is needed played as a natural, the accidental will be placed just before the note that is different.
The key signature is put in place so that the sharps and flats will be limited on the actual notes in the piece of music. Basically, by putting the # in the signature key it avoids the writer from having to put a sharp or flat by each note when the F is in the music. It lets the musician know that each and every time the F note is required that it should be played as F#. The lines of music will not be as cluttered this way and it will be much easier to be read.
Here are some common key signatures and the notes they affect:
Key of C: Includes no flats or sharps
Key of G: Includes one sharp (F#)
Key of D: Includes two sharps (C# and F#)
Key of A: Includes three sharps (G#, F# and C#)
Key of E: Includes four sharps (D#, F#, C# and G#)
Key of F: Includes one flat (Bb)
Key of Bb: Includes two flats (Eb and Bb)
Key of Eb: Includes three flats (Ab, Eb, and Bb)
There is also a relative minor for each key. The similarities of the relative minor and the major are nearly all the same (though started in a different place, the scales are the same) they are not thought of as the same. The note that is found a minor third down from the major (key) is considered to be the relative minor. It is also known as the sixth note in the major scale. The A note is the six note of the C major scale, for example. This means that the relative minor to the C scale is an A minor. It is extremely common for music to use a particular key’s relative minor so if you know about them it makes understanding the chord progression in a song much easier to comprehend.
Below are some specific keys and what their relative minors (keys) are:
A minor is the relative minor C
B minor is the relative minor for D
F# minor is the relative minor for A
G minor is the relative minor for Bb
An experienced musician playing in a non-formal setting (not using written music) simply needs to know the key to a particular song to be able to play the chords and scales (melodies) for that song.
Last of all, it is very common for a song to change keys before the end of the song. Musicians that are newer to the musical industry may find this very challenging.
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