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Gospel Instruments => General Music Hangout => Topic started by: dwest2419 on January 04, 2013, 02:34:02 PM

Title: How to determine....?
Post by: dwest2419 on January 04, 2013, 02:34:02 PM
Hi guys back with another thread. How to determine what chord are in a key? For instance, someone said the chord is Bb7 what quick and easy way tell immediately what chord the key is in even if chord is played as an inversion?
Title: Re: How to determine....?
Post by: cas10a on January 04, 2013, 02:39:50 PM
I don't know, I would say you would need more than 1 chord to tell what key you are playing in...but I might guess Db, since that's where you would usually find a Bb7
Title: Re: How to determine....?
Post by: cas10a on January 04, 2013, 02:57:41 PM
Example:

Key of Db
B or F/D-F-Ab-B
Bb/D-F-Ab-Bb (Bb7)
Eb/ (2)  Gb-Bb-Db-F
Ab/ (5)  Gb-Bb-C-F
Db/ (1) F-Ab-Db

Key of Bb
Bb/F-Ab-Bb-D (same Bb7)
C/G-Bb-Eb
D/Ab-Bb-D-F (again/D bass)
Eb/G-Bb-D-F

Title: Re: How to determine....?
Post by: cas10a on January 04, 2013, 03:27:40 PM
The quickest way I know how to find a key is to play the pentatonic scale in the key through the chords of the song...it may not work for everyone, but it is what I have always used in the past....sometimes now it's easy to hear the key...other times it is difficult for me as well...it takes a lot of practice.
Title: Re: How to determine....?
Post by: dwest2419 on January 04, 2013, 03:37:35 PM
Thank you! This helps out a lot. Yeah, cause I was thinking that Bb7 could fall into the key of Eb since it is listed as a dominant V7 chord.
Title: Re: How to determine....?
Post by: cas10a on January 04, 2013, 03:51:01 PM
Thank you! This helps out a lot. Yeah, cause I was thinking that Bb7 could fall into the key of Eb since it is listed as a dominant V7 chord.

The chord is also used in Eb...I think GtrDave said it best in one of the recent post I read, theory doesn't always dictate what you can play and where, however I don't think 1 chord determines the key.  Maybe T-Block will chime in 'cause I haven't been studying music for more than a minute lately...(sorry)...so my advice/instruction may not be the best.
Title: Re: How to determine....?
Post by: gtrdave on January 04, 2013, 04:15:20 PM
The chord is also used in Eb...I think GtrDave said it best in one of the recent post I read, theory doesn't always dictate what you can play and where, however I don't think 1 chord determines the key.  Maybe T-Block will chime in 'cause I haven't been studying music for more than a minute lately...(sorry)...so my advice/instruction may not be the best.

No, one chord does not determine a key center at all, but each chord does have a specific tonality and is derived from a particular scale.
In the case of a dominant chord (7 or 9 or 11 or 13) it is typically voiced as a V and therefore is related to or derived from the mixolydian mode. This does not mean that the key that said chord is in is the I of the V chord. We just went through this on another forum where a particular solo section alone of a song had 6 different dominant chords. The key does not bounce around 6 times as a result.
Instead, the chords have to be taken in context, at the very least by a particular number of measures and/or phrases, to determine what the key center is.
Title: Re: How to determine....?
Post by: cas10a on January 04, 2013, 05:31:51 PM
Thanks Dave...I have to get back into studying...not just music, but the Word...been slippin'...
Title: Re: How to determine....?
Post by: dwest2419 on January 04, 2013, 05:59:29 PM
^^^Me too  :-[
Title: Re: How to determine....?
Post by: T-Block on January 05, 2013, 08:17:15 AM
No, one chord does not determine a key center at all, but each chord does have a specific tonality and is derived from a particular scale.
In the case of a dominant chord (7 or 9 or 11 or 13) it is typically voiced as a V and therefore is related to or derived from the mixolydian mode. This does not mean that the key that said chord is in is the I of the V chord. We just went through this on another forum where a particular solo section alone of a song had 6 different dominant chords. The key does not bounce around 6 times as a result.
Instead, the chords have to be taken in context, at the very least by a particular number of measures and/or phrases, to determine what the key center is.

Boom, QFE!!!

Just to add to this powerful word, I believe that any chord can be played in any key. It's all in where and how you use the chord.