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1)Look at the first chord. Songs almost always start with the first chord of the scale the song is written with. If a song starts with a C chord, that song is almost always in the key of C. When a song starts with an Am chord, that song is almost always in the key of A minor. 2)The last chord of the song. Songs almost always end with the chord that has the same name like the key. If a song ends with a C chord, that song is almost always in the key of C. When a song ends with an Am chord, that song is almost always in the key of A minor. 3)The key signature. When you are learning a song from a book or chart, the key signature at the beginning of the staff tells you what scale the song is written with. A key signature is a number of sharps or flats that is always notated right next to the clef on the staff. Every number of sharps or flats signifies one specific key. For example: in the key of G, there is 1 sharp, and that sharp is an F# note. If you want to learn more about key signatures, you can find more info in other articles and in the ZOT Zin Music blogs here http://www.zotzinguitarlessons.com/blog/. 4)The Chord progression. a.The chords in a song consist of notes/sounds that are strummed simultaneously. These notes that make up these chords are all part of a series of sounds called a scale. Musicians who have memorized what notes every chord consists of, usually can infer the key of a song when they see its chord progressions. b.Knowing where chords are in a scale i.2 major chords a whole step apart are IV and V in the key ii.2 minor chords a whole step apart are always II- and III- in the key iii.A dim triad is always VII in the key. c.I realize that understanding the above requires some basic music theory knowledge. 5)The notes in your vocal melody. a.When you are writing a song and you have a melody that comes to you, figure out on your guitar what the notes are that you just sang. Then based on that info, figure out what the scale is. This requires 2 things: i.An ear that is good enough to be able to figure out the notes you sang on guitar. ii.Enough theory knowledge about key signatures to figure out what the scale is made up of the notes in your vocal melody. 6)Key (center). a.Every song has a key center: a “gravitational” note that supports the whole song and which whole song is centered around. It is that one note you can sing throughout the whole song and it never clashes anywhere (unless of course the song modulates to a different key during the song). b.It requires some good ear to hear that key center note. It is very often the first note in the song the bass player plays (and the very last note he plays). It is also very often the root of the very first chord in the song, since most songs typically start with the I chord. Author's Bio : Vreny, is a patient and an enthusiastic teacher in California. With 17 years of teaching experience, he offers the best guitar lessons california. His life's goal has been to make the world a fun place to live in, sharing his love for music through education.
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