2 Ways To Find The Key

I was going through my note-taking from Jermaine's teachings and came across some valuable tips. It's about the 2 primary ways to find the key. 

Intuitively

• Any given time, there is one note you can press down while listening to a song and it will always feel like "home." 
• Common Tone
• Home Base
• Harmonics
• The I
• The Tonic
• True Key

Analytically

• Like DNA, every major key has a unique set of chords. For example, take F Major Scale: F G A Bb C D E F. The key of F has 3 different types of chords: major, minor, diminished.

1. Major Chords: F major, Bb major, C major.
2. Minor Chords: G minor, A minor, D minor.
3. Diminished Chord: E diminished.

• There is only ONE key that has this combination of chords... F major! While C major is close, (C Major, D minor, E minor, F major, G major, A minor, B diminished); it does not contain the exact musical DNA of F major.
• Like a detective, you can learn to follow these clues to lead you to the right key. Of course, your ear and intuition should be the final judge!

Pro Tips

• The key of the song is essentially the first tone of the scale, aka - "the tonic." We're looking for a scale to place the song in so we can work our magic with the number system, chords, and patterns (the subsequent steps to playing by ear! Without a reference point (the "key" or "the 1"), we're lost.
• Every tone of the scale produces a chord. The first tone of the scale produces a major chord (aka - "the 1-chord"). This is the chord you're listening for. It's usually found at the beginning and end of the song (but not always).
• All songs wrap around to the beginning (usually after the end of the verse or chorus).If you can hum the first chord that's played when the song returns to the beginning, that's likely the 1-chord or the key!
• It will sound like a common tone you can hold down during the entire song.
• In fact, even though the song is progressing from chord to chord, pattern to pattern, this ONE tone will never clash with any of the chords, regardless of what's going on in the song. It's always harmonious.
• If you had to close your eyes and imagine the very last chord of the song...the chord that propels the audience to their feet, clapping and cheering (because even they know it's the last ending chord) -- that's most likely the key of the song, the common "home base" tone we're looking for. 
• If you're not good at finding the key of a song, the good news is you can work on it DAILY while driving in your car -- no piano needed!
• It is recommended that you first hum the key with your own voice before jumping on the piano to figure out what key you're humming. If you can heat it, you can sing it, and if you can sing it, you can play it!

More articles I've written:

What If There Isn't A Transpose Button

Nashville Number System Explained

So, you will probably want to look for the 300pg Course Book that is offered from Hear and Play. It's a fantastic music theory resource book that I continually use with my students.

All the best,

-- LadyD

 "The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Five Building Blocks of Music

5 Building Blocks of Music

 Beginner's Corner

I was observing my three-year-old grandson playing with his wooden blocks and watching him turn these blocks into some beautiful buildings. I thought about how books are structured with letters, words and punctuation marks that turn into stories.

When I teach children how to read sheet music, they learn that music has its own symbols. It is not all about music notes but there are signs and symbols to learn as well.

 Here are five basic signs to learn.

1. The Grand Staff

2. The Clef

3. The Key Signature

4. Time Signature

5. Bar Lines and Measures

The Grand Staff has five lines and four spaces in the Treble Clef, which the notes written on the staff. The notes for the right hand are usually written on the top of the staff and the notes for the left hand are on the bottom staff, with 5 lines and 4 spaces. When you begin learning to read notes that are on the Grand staff, I call this the right hand shaking hands with the left hand, you'll see that both staffs are connected with a bar line and bracket. We call this the Grand Staff. Now your sheet music will have 10 lines and 8 spaces.

Here's what the dictionary says:

The Clef is the symbol at the beginning of each staff. It tells you what each note is. In the G Clef or some call it Treble Clef, the second line from the bottom is the G note. Sometimes I refer to it as a kitty sitting on the fence and it's tail wraps around the G line.

The F or Bass Clef looks like a backwards C with two dots on either side of the F line. The F is the second line from the top. You can figure out all the other notes from there. The notes written in the bass clef are played with your left hand.

The Key Signature is always at the beginning of each line of music and you will often see sharps or flats written on the staff. They tell you which notes are always sharp or flat in the music.

Time Signature has two numbers, one on the top and one on the bottom. It looks like a fraction in mathematics without the line. It is one number on top of the other. The top number tells you how many beats there will be in each measure, and the bottom number shows you what kind of note is the beat and gets one count.

Bar lines are thin pencil-like lines that divide a measure from the next one. There is usually a double bar line at the end of a piece. A double bar line, that has two dots before it is called a repeat sign. This tells you to play part of the music again. You can find a repeat sign at the end of the first line of music, somewhere in the middle of the song or at the end. Look for it. You'll want to play the verses of a song and repeat the chorus, too.

Now the measures in music is the space between the bar lines. Each measure has the same number of beats. Many times you will notice that measures are numbered and this helps group player performing a duet or for a conductor to regroup all the instruments to begin playing at measure nine. Indeed, it is fun to learn the building blocks of music.

One of the best theory books I recommend and I mean it's a huge one in learning lots of music principles is 300pg Course Book. Be sure and use a pencil with this one because you'll be filling in lots of blanks for future reference and quick recall for some answers.

All the best and keep practicing!

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Friday Freebie: Music Symbols and Vocabulary

note (Photo credit: S@Z)

In addition to my ongoing posts that you can read online or receive by email, perhaps you've also subscribed to my monthly newsletters. Yes, I must confess to you that I missed October due to visits with my grandchildren but I'm sure I'll be able to make up for it in the future. But did you know about the Fun&Free tab on my website? I didn't want you to miss out on all the games you can play for free. Here's some more learning resources, available to you for free online... happy learning!

Symbols and Vocabulary

1. Tempo and Dynamics
Leo's Barnyard Baton

2. Recognize Music Symbols
MusicDarts1

3. Match Music Symbols
Dso Kids Music Match

4. Key Signature Flash Cards
Musicards

Musical Notation

1. Piano Keys and Staff
Funbrain The Piano Player

2. Music Theory Flash Cards
Music note flashcards

3. Intervals
Interval_flashcards

4. Chords
Triad_flashcards

5. Treble Clef Notes
Notename

6. Recognize Staff Spaces
FREE TrebleSpaces-Practice

7. Steps and Skips
http://www.musiclearningcommunity.com/

8. Whack-A-Note
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org

More Online Music Games

http://www.agame.com

pbskids.org

http://www.musicgames.net

I really enjoyed the piano playing on this video. What do you think?

You may be interested in Jermaine Griggs 4 Free Videos

Have fun with these online music games and let me know which ones are beneficial to you.

Best,






"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Related articles

• Monday Mailbag: Piano Fingering
• Friday Freebie: Piano Scales
• You Can Accompany Yourself
• Friday Freebie: Rhythm Printables

Order of Sharps and Flats on the Staff

Image via Wikipedia The accidentals of the key signatures are placed on the staff in the same order of appearance as in the circle of fifths. For sharp keys the first sharp appears on the F line (5th line, counting from bottom to top line) of the treble clef and on 4th line (counting bottom to top) of the bass clef.

This sharp applies to any F in the musical composition whether on the same lines or on any other locations, and this same principle is observed for any other sharps (or flats) of the key signature. The sharps progress in an orderly arrangement from left to right. For quick identification of a major key in a signature of sharps, the keynote occupies that staff degree immediately above the last sharp.

C Major and Sharp Key Signatures

Key of C = no sharps and flats
Key of G = 1 sharp (F#)
Key of D = 2 sharps (F#, C#)
Key of A = 3 sharps (F#, C#, G#)
Key of E = 4 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#)
Key of B = 5 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#)
Key of F# = 6 sharps (F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, B#)

For quick identification of a major key in a signature of two or more flats, the keynote is identical with the penultimate (next-to-last) flat.

C Major and Flat Key Signatures

Key of C = no sharps or flats
Key of F = 1 flat (Bb)
Key of Bb = 2 flats (Bb, Eb)
Key of Eb = 3 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab)
Key of Ab = 4 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db)
Key of Db = 5 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb)
Key of Gb = 6 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb)
Key of Cb = 7 flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb, Cb, Fb)

The key signature may now be used to identify the key. When it is known that the music is in a major key, the number of sharps or flats in the signature will indicate the name of that major key. For example, when the key is major, four sharps always indicates the key of E.

Exercise: Constructing the Circle of Fifths for Major Keys

Construct from memory the circle of fifths for major keys. You should be able to draw the circle on paper or at the board in one minute.

Exercise: Write the correct major key name according to the number of sharps or flats given.

Exercise: Write the correct number of sharps or flats for the given major key.

Much music commonly performed today (including most music of the 17th-19th centuries) is based on either one of two scale patterns: the major scale and the minor scale. Music is said to be in major when the pitches used can be arranged in alphabetical order with a resulting major scale pattern.

In Joy to the World, the first line of the melody already assumes the pattern of the D Major Scale.

Here's the melody line of the right hand:

(D, C#, B,A, G, F#, E, D)


Joy to the World in Bb Major Scale


(Bb, A, G, F, Eb, D, C, Bb)

So, the key signature is a group of accidentals found on the staff at the beginning of a composition. This group consists of the accidentals used in the scale of the composition and when the music uses a major or minor scale, the signature can be used to identify the key of the composition. the key signature is placed before the time signature.

By extracting the accidentals from each major scale in this way, we can find the number and names of sharps  or flats for each major key, and the key signature for each. Remember that including C (no sharps and no flats), there are fifteen major keys, just as there are fifteen locations of the major scale.

A common way of illustrating the order of key signatures, with the numbers of accidentals in each, is through the circle of fifths. (our previous lesson)


If you can read simple treble-clef melody notes,
you can play your favorite popular songs using
"Play Piano With Fake Book" system.

Master the following:
*Can't Help Falling In Love
*Smoke Gets In Your Eye
*Never on Sunday
*Edelweiss
*Chariots of Fire and more
Using "Play Piano With Fake Book"





Best,
-- LadyD




"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." B.B.King

Related articles

• Success In All Keys- an innovative approach to learning key signatures (davidvaldez.blogspot.com)
• Bass Clef Land (lindseydipinzi.wordpress.com)

Part Two: Intros with Arpeggios

Not familiar with broken chords? The definition for piano arpeggios can be found here answers.com

 In music, an arpeggio is Italian for broken chord where the notes are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously. This word comes from the Italian word "arpeggiare" , which means "to play on a harp". These are formed from scales, the arpeggio is based on the relative scale playing the "key" notes or those affected by the key signature.

 This arpeggio passage progresses from G to G7, Am, D7, G, Em, and D7 before resolving to G in the following melody. (The first D7 could be F#dim.)
It is one of the easiest for beginning pianists to learn, because beginning with the F of the G7 broken chord each group of six notes simply begins on the next lowest note in the scale.

* Arpeggios


1. Straight hand-over-hand arpeggios.

This method works best with chords of four notes or less.


2. Split arpeggios.


This works best with the more complicated five-note chords.
Left hand plays root. Hold sustain pedal. Right and left hands play remaining notes of the chord
hand-over-hand in a repeating arpeggio.


* Here are some examples:


G9 = Low G (l.h. and pedal) + Bm7(b5) arpeggio B D F A (right and left hand-over-hand).


G7b9 = Low G (l.h. w/pedal) + Bdim7 arpeggio B D F Ab  (right and left hand-over-hand).


Sometimes inverting chords leads to a more comfortable fingering. Here's a more practical way of playing the above example:


G7b9 = Low G (l.h. w/pedal) + Bdim7 arpeggio D F Ab B (right and left hand-over-hand).


Use this pattern with any variation of the dominant chord. Try these in a few other keys.

Related Resources:

Walking bass lines with arpeggios

Piano practice with arpeggios

Piano Hand Coordination

Let me know how your piano practice with arpeggios progresses. Broken chords can be played as an intro to set up a song or definitely close out a song. Yes it's true, synthesizers have their own built in arpeggiators! lol

Thanks for stopping by.
I hope you enjoy your stay at LadyD Piano.

Learn How To Play Chord Patterns

Image by Caitlinator via Flickr

I have taken online courses with Jermaine Griggs from HearandPlay.com and also with Willies Myette on jazzpianolessons.com Both of these fantastic musicians and teachers explain the importance of knowing and understanding music theory, especially playing chord progressions or chord patterns. Here are some you need to know that I have found helpful to my piano playing. I share these chord patterns with my piano students to free them up from using and depending so much on sheet music or chord charts.

* CHORD PATTERNS:


I - IV - V - I Chord Pattern

Examples:
Key of C: C - F - G - C
Key of D: D - G - A - D
Key of E : E - A - B - E

I - iii - IV - ii - I Chord Pattern

Examples:
Key of F: F - A - Bb - G - F
Key of G: G - B - C - A - G
Key of A: A - C# - D - B - A

I - vi - ii - V - I Chord Pattern

Examples:
Key of B: B - G# - C# - F# - B
Key of Db: Db - Bb - Eb - Ab - Db
Key of Eb: Eb - C - F - Bb - Eb
Key of Gb: Gb - Eb - Ab - Db - Gb

I - ii - iii - IV - V - I Chord Pattern

Examples:
Key of Ab: Ab - Bbm - Cm - Db - Eb - Ab
Key of Bb: Bb - Cm - Dm - Eb - F - Bb

I - vi - ii - IV - I Chord Pattern

Examples:
Key of C: C - Am - Dm - G - C
Key of D: D - Bm - Em - A - D

1-7-2-6-5 in C

1 – C = CCF
7 – G/B = CCF
2 – Dm7 = D / A D F
6 – Am7 = A / C E G
5 – G = G / B D G


5-1 Walk-up in G minor

E7 = E / D E G# B
D/F# = F# / D F# A
G#o7 = G# / D F G# B
Amin7 = A / E G A C

Other Chords

Fmaj9 = CCF
G#o7 = F# / D F G# B
Amin7 = A / E G A C
C13 = CCF
Fmaj9 = CCF

7-1 in C minor

C#o7 = C# / Bb C# E G
Dm7 = D / A C D F

I = D / D F A
Shall = E / F A D
Re = F / E G C
Co- = G / D G B
ver = A / E G C
It = B / F A D
All = C / E G C

G11 = CCF

* A NICE TYPE OF DISNEY END IN Eb
It is really a 2-5-1 progression with a little bit of the Disney theme song added in.

D/G-B-D-F
G/A-C-D-F-Ab
C/Bb-C-D-F
/G-C-Eb
Bb/F-Bb-D
Eb-Ab-C
G/F-Bb-Eb
F#/F#-A-Eb
F/F-Ab-Eb
Bb/Ab-Bb-Eb-F
Bb/Ab-Bb-D-F
Eb/G-Bb-Eb or Eb-G-Bb

* Note from a Friend:

From time to time, I get a little help from my friends... sounds like a song! lol
A note was posted in the forum by Rueben explaining chord patterns from

http://zone.hearandplay.com

The pattern: you have to establish if it is a repeating pattern like 1st stanza:
Glorify Thy Name
C Dm G C I ii V C
Father I love you I praise you I adore you
C F G G7 I IV V V7
Glorify they name in all the earth
C F I IV
Glorify thy name
E7 Am Fm III vi iv
Glorify thy name
C Em Dm I iii ii
Glorify thy name
G4 C V I
in all the earth

in the second stanza Father is replaced
with Jesus while the third--you use Spirit.
the pattern will be the same in 2nd and 3rd
stanza.
Notice: E7 in glorify thy name is an "altered chord" because diatonic family of C should be Em. The other exception in that line is Fm...the 4th chord should be an F but this one is also an altered chord...an exception because in key of C the diatonic chord family should be C Dm Em F G Am B*..... The III and iv signifies that you are altering that chord.

LadyD, I hope you will now have a clearer picture of what I am saying. It is not the 2-5-1 or 1-4-5 pattern...It is the pattern of the song that you are trying to establish/analyze.
Enjoy....God bless
Ruben

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