Finding the Key

1

Please help find a fast, efficient way to identify the Key of a song. I have to move fast to find a key.

2

Use a tuner

3

Most efficient way is just to hear the key instantly. That needs absolute hearing (can be trained). I’m training that hearing for couple years and now I can not bad at all guess keys: E-major, G-major, C-major, A-major, a-minor. Other keys are still confusing for me. How to do that:

  1. Build personal playlist sorted by key and listen Your favorite music by key. One key for a month or other period.
  2. Find keys of music that playing in radio anywhere (on public transport, shop, waiting in queue) using some handy musical instrument (for example onscreen piano on the phone).

Thats about absolute hearing.

And about finding key:

  1. Use simple tools:
    online (tunebat, google), offline (mixxx dj software)
  2. Custom method by harmony
    2.1. Learn bass notes
    You can try to hear main bass note for whole song - this is key of song. If that fails or You want to proof key, then go further…
    2.2. Then learn chords progression
    2.3. Then key results from progression
  3. Custom method by melody
    3.1. Try to play all notes from melody
    3.3 Then if You have 7 different notes then probably You can guess the key
    3.4. If there are less notes: Try to improvise and find other notes to achieve 7 notes.
    3.5. Then You can guess the key..

You can use all method above for one song to be sure.
When You have guessed key. Then try to play-along and improvise on that key. If fits then You can be 100% sure for key.
Also keep in mind that:

  1. Key can change on during song
  2. Some songs can (without key change) have ambigous keys because of mode.
    For example rock progression: C Bb F
    We can say that this is in C-key because main bass note is C, but this isn’t standard ionian C-major key. This will be C-mixolydian major key.
    Or we can say that is F-major because all chords (and probably melody too) is from standard (ionian) F-major
    Or other example: dorian mode.
    If we have progreesion: d-minor G-major chords.
    Then we can say that this is d-minor dorian mode key because of main bass note d.
    But we can also say that this is standard C-major key.
  3. There also non-european scales and harmonic-minor scale. This bring some confusion to key guessing.
  4. And there is also jazz: Key of song is that key which brings as few as possible inline sharps (#) and flats (b) in sheetnotes of melody.
  5. Most of songs ends with key chord/bass note
  6. Many songs starts from key chord

This reply is little bit shortened. I hope to find some time to record with examples or describe it deeper.

Or maybe You have example. I will describe my process of guessing.

1 Like
4

Jan - I can not THANK YOU enough for this exceptional explanation! Your processes give me a start to work on this skill of identifying the keys. I currently play in 3 different bands. They all play different genres of music, with some overlap. Often, they deviate from the setlist and just start playing a song, without any rehearsal, etc. So I need to find the key fast without anyone telling me. I will work on this and look forward to learning more from you. Thanks again, Rusty