Determining the key of a song from the chord chart - help!

[fourstringbliss]

I've got a list of songs (including the key for each song) we're doing at my church, but don't have the songs themselves. I'm finding the songs online, but it never mentions what key it's in. How can I tell from the chords?

Here's the chords from one song:

"King"

Verse: D Bm7 Asus G2
D/F# G2 Asus Em7 D/F# G2

Chorus: D A/C# G/B Asus G2 D/F# Em7 G2
D A/C# G/B Asus G2 A D

The song ends on a D if that makes any difference.

Thanks!

[agreatheight]

Originally Posted by fourstringbliss

I've got a list of songs (including the key for each song) we're doing at my church, but don't have the songs themselves. I'm finding the songs online, but it never mentions what key it's in. How can I tell from the chords?

Here's the chords from one song:

"King"

Verse: D Bm7 Asus G2
D/F# G2 Asus Em7 D/F# G2

Chorus: D A/C# G/B Asus G2 D/F# Em7 G2
D A/C# G/B Asus G2 A D

The song ends on a D if that makes any difference.

Thanks!

Sure looks like key of D to me!

Easiest way to determine key is to look at the notes in the chords and see what you get:
D = D F# A
Bm7 = B D A
A = A C# E
Em7 = E G D
G2 = G A D

So you got A B C# D E F# and G, 2 sharps, which is key of D.

Plus, the song starts and resolves on a D, which is another big clue!

Make sense?

[fourstringbliss]

Originally Posted by agreatheight

Sure looks like key of D to me!

Easiest way to determine key is to look at the notes in the chords and see what you get:
D = D A F#
Bm7 = B D A
A = A C# E
Em7 = E B D
G2 = G A D

So you got A B C# D E F# and G, 2 sharps, which is key of D.

Plus, the song starts and resolves on a D, which is another big clue!

Make sense?

Thanks! I thought it might be D, but the chart you made is a great help!

Okay, we're doing the song in F, so if I transposed all of the notes up three half-steps would I have it in F? I'm not concerned about the sus and m7 parts of the chords - just the root notes.

[fourstringbliss]

So, I'm looking online to find how to tell what key a song is in, and I find this:

Automatically transpose a song!

All I have to do is to copy/paste the lyrics/chords from a song into the box and it'll change it for me!

I still want to learn how to do this on my own, but this will help in a pinch!

[seanm]

1. If the song ends on a D, it is usually in D. But not always.
2. If I song starts on a D, it is usually in D. This rule is broken much more often I find.
3. If the song starts and ends on a D, there is a good chance it is in D.

Notice I say ends first. This is because in western culture we like to have happy endings. This includes music.

Be very careful of rule 2. At jams people usually look at the first chord and say "This one is in D". Sometimes it isn't

But really, analyzing the chords is a much better solution. Song writers sometimes like to start on a different chord from the root just for the effect. Or end on a different chord to "leave you hanging".

[agreatheight]

Originally Posted by fourstringbliss

Okay, we're doing the song in F, so if I transposed all of the notes up three half-steps would I have it in F? I'm not concerned about the sus and m7 parts of the chords - just the root notes.

You are correct! Every note goes up 1 1/2 steps (3 half steps), including the notes in the chords.

[el_Kabong]

It really pays off to know the chords built on the scale tones. To build the chords just take each note as being the root of a chord and stack every second scale note on top. So starting with the root in D major you get D F# A C#, or D Major 7 (DM7). If you do that for each scale tone, you always get the following pattern with every major scale, M7 m7 m7 M7 Dom7 m7 m7b5. So when you look at a chord progression this can give you a good idea of what key you are in, especially if the tune has key changes. It can also open your mind to other choices in your playing, eg if its a minor chord you might consider it to be built on the 6th note (ie you're in D major) or the second note (you're in C major). It's only a small step from being comfortable with this to understanding modes so it's worth the effort.