What's the key? "You Get So" by Matt Finish

[BAG]

Hi all,

Just posting this out out of curiosity as I always learn something new with these kind of threads.
I've been learning to play the titled song and I'm not 100% certain what you would say the key is. As best I can hear, the chords in the verse and chorus are;
F#m
E

With these two middle 8/bridge elements.
F#m C#m E B



B A F#m E

This suggests to me that it is a ii, I (m2 1) song in the key of E major rather than a I, bVII in F#m. Feel free to correct any wrong terminology or anything else.

 

[foal30]

I can't get the audio to play sorry.

On paper if the key was F#m then probably the C#m is likely to be a C#7

If the key was Emaj then the B would be a B7

 

[Malcolm35]

When the key is in doubt:
Look at each verse - what chord does each verse end with, that is normally the key. If all verses start and stop on the same chord, you can bet the farm, the name of that chord is your key.

Still in doubt? List all the chords and go to your handy dandy key chart; do all the chords fit into one key? If not which one is the best fit.

Double click to enlarge.

Still in doubt? Run the chord progression. What is the tonal center? The tonal center is your key.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

Feel free to correct any wrong terminology or anything else.

The song is "all-about-the-tonal-center of F#m.
In the key of F# minor.
All other chord progression/harmonic devices don't change the song's tonal center.

P.S. All Matt Finish songs (but one) were not accessible on youtube. I could not find any Matt Finish on my iTunes.

 

[BAG]

When the key is in doubt:
Look at each verse - what chord does each verse end with

The whole verse is in F#m.

Still in doubt? List all the chords and go to your handy dandy key chart; do all the chords fit into one key? If not which one is the best fit.

The chords fit E .....
Hence my questioning the key.

The song is "all-about-the-tonal-center of F#m.

It does appear to want to go back to the verse riff doesn't it.

So if it is in F#m, how is the Bmajor explained? Borrowed chord?

 

[BAG]

P.S. All Matt Finish songs (but one) were not accessible on youtube. I could not find any Matt Finish on my iTunes.

Which is why I uploaded it from my collection. Even that appears to have not worked properly according to Foal30.

 

[BAG]

On paper if the key was F#m then probably the C#m is likely to be a C#7

If the key was Emaj then the B would be a B7

Can you explain how you got that from the chords alone?

 

[Whousedtoplay]

So if it is in F#m, how is the Bmajor explained? Borrowed chord?

There are THREE (3) types of a MINOR SCALE - the natural, melodic and harmonic minor scales.
We can use/recycle any of the minor scale type without using that word, "Borrowed".

F sharp minor scale, natural, melodic and harmonic

P.S. From here about the existence of three types of minor scales.

Why are there 3 Minor Scales? | Epianostudio

"The natural minor scale was developed during the 9th and 10th centuries when the Gregorian Chant was all the rage. Well, around the time of Bach, composers began to realize that this system didn’t suit their needs very well. They were looking for a series of tones that would lend itself well to harmony and more complex melodic passages. In particular the common chord progression of IV-V-I (subdominant-dominant-tonic) did not resolve as nicely as it did in the major scale. (In the major scale this chord progression is often used to “conclude” a passage. It gives the listener a sense of finality.) This is when the harmonic minor was created. It made the desired chord progressions resolve nicely to the tonic chord for a feeling of conclusion. I have inserted a short sound clip to show the difference between the IV-V-I progression in the natural minor and the IV-V-I progression in the harmonic minor.
Well, similarly to why the harmonic minor was created, the melodic minor was created to address other deficiencies of the natural minor scale. Composers began finding that traversing UP the natural minor scale just didn’t sound right; the melody wasn’t driving towards the tonic as much as they would like. It sounded fine on the way DOWN the scale, but not on the way up. So to give the sense that the scale was “driving” upwards, they raised the 6th and 7th notes of the scale."

 

[Whousedtoplay]

Which is why I uploaded it from my collection. Even that appears to have not worked properly according to Foal30.

Here is the ONLY one studio song available for listening in my neighborhood, but it has a clearly pronounced bass line, and I like it!

 

[Malcolm35]

Malcolm35 said: ↑
When the key is in doubt:
Look at each verse - what chord does each verse end with
Your reply -- The whole verse is in F#m.

Malcolm35 said: ↑
Still in doubt? List all the chords and go to your handy dandy key chart; do all the chords fit into one key? If not which one is the best fit.
Your answer -- The chords fit E .....
Hence my questioning the key.

Malcolm now asks; Is there a D or D# chord in the song? If there is a D then it probably is in the key of F#m. If there is a D# chord it could be in the key of E.

As your first question does not list a D of any kind, I think the test then falls back on tonal center. And F#m would seem to be the key.

Happy trails...

 

[BAG]

There are THREE (3) types of a MINOR SCALE - the natural, melodic and harmonic minor scales.
We can use/recycle any of the minor scale type without using that word, "Borrowed".

F sharp minor scale, natural, melodic and harmonic
View attachment 3477885

P.S. From here about the existence of three types of minor scales.

Why are there 3 Minor Scales? | Epianostudio

"The natural minor scale was developed during the 9th and 10th centuries when the Gregorian Chant was all the rage. Well, around the time of Bach, composers began to realize that this system didn’t suit their needs very well. They were looking for a series of tones that would lend itself well to harmony and more complex melodic passages. In particular the common chord progression of IV-V-I (subdominant-dominant-tonic) did not resolve as nicely as it did in the major scale. (In the major scale this chord progression is often used to “conclude” a passage. It gives the listener a sense of finality.) This is when the harmonic minor was created. It made the desired chord progressions resolve nicely to the tonic chord for a feeling of conclusion. I have inserted a short sound clip to show the difference between the IV-V-I progression in the natural minor and the IV-V-I progression in the harmonic minor.
Well, similarly to why the harmonic minor was created, the melodic minor was created to address other deficiencies of the natural minor scale. Composers began finding that traversing UP the natural minor scale just didn’t sound right; the melody wasn’t driving towards the tonic as much as they would like. It sounded fine on the way DOWN the scale, but not on the way up. So to give the sense that the scale was “driving” upwards, they raised the 6th and 7th notes of the scale."

As I mentioned in the OP. I always learn something when I post these kind of threads. Thank you for the easily followed explanation and to the others who also chimed in.

Here is the ONLY one studio song available for listening in my neighborhood, but it has a clearly pronounced bass line, and I like it!

Did the embedded MP3 in the OP work for you?
If you've got Spotify I know it is all available on there.
If you like Mancini Shuffle you'll probably like the whole album "Short Note". It is one of those albums that really doesn't have any filler songs. The bass is very up-front in the mix with a tone I really like and some very interesting lines and grooves but Rick Grossman also knows when to just chug along on a single note to drive the chorus along. I'm a bit biased as it was regular listening for me in my youth but every song is a good one in my opinion.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

you'll probably like the whole album "Short Note".

Good luck listening to that album

Some live music.
A very cool bass tone!

 

[foal30]

Can you explain how you got that from the chords alone?

"On Paper"

The Key of a tune or movement could be figured out by what chord qualities are written

If you say B7 the key could be Emaj

If I say Cmaj7(#11) you could say the key is Gmaj

In a minor key the V chord will likely also be a dominant or 7 chord (of some description)

Look at WUTP stave ... Melodic Minor... The V chord is dominant not minor....same thing again with Harmonic Minor...

This makes Minor Keys sound different to Major Key

 

[BAG]

Good luck listening to that album

View attachment 3477974

Some live music.
A very cool bass tone!

Yeah, it's blocked on Youtube in NZ too.
You can buy the album at his website if you don't have Spotify.
Or i could email you a few songs if you'd like a listen......

"On Paper"

The Key of a tune or movement could be figured out by what chord qualities are written

If you say B7 the key could be Emaj

If I say Cmaj7(#11) you could say the key is Gmaj

In a minor key the V chord will likely also be a dominant or 7 chord (of some description)

Look at WUTP stave ... Melodic Minor... The V chord is dominant not minor....same thing again with Harmonic Minor...

This makes Minor Keys sound different to Major Key

Thank you for that.

 

[Whousedtoplay]

Harmonizing the F# minor scale (all three types) - triads and the 7th's.

F-sharp natural minor scale triad chords (i, iio, III, iv, v, VI, VII)
basicmusictheory.com: F-sharp minor chords

F-sharp harmonic minor scale triad chords (i, iio, III+, iv, V, VI, viio)
basicmusictheory.com: F-sharp harmonic minor chords

F-sharp melodic minor scale triad chords (i, ii, III+, IV, V, vio, viio)
Link Removed


F-sharp natural minor scale 7th chords, (i7, iiø7, III7, iv7, v7, VI7, VII7)
Link Removed

F-sharp harmonic minor scale 7th chords, (i7, iiø7, III+7, iv7, V7, VI7, viio7)

basicmusictheory.com: F-sharp harmonic minor 7th chords

F-sharp melodic minor scale 7th chords, (i7, ii7, III+7, IV7, V7, viø7, viiø7)
basicmusictheory.com: F-sharp melodic minor 7th chords

 

[eddododo]

Seems like it’s in the key of E, centered around the Dorian for the meat of it. I’d have to actually hear it to see if the melodies and harmonies suggest otherwise.

Seeing E A and B is the easiest giveaway for the key signature. Seeing all that F# action suggests that that’s kind of the tonal center. But this is all academic without hearing it... the other thing to consider when doing this kind of analysis is whether or not the artist appears to be beholden to any mirage of ‘rules’ for writing harmonic motion

 

[BAG]

Seems like it’s in the key of E, centered around the Dorian for the meat of it. I’d have to actually hear it to see if the melodies and harmonies suggest otherwise.

Seeing E A and B is the easiest giveaway for the key signature. Seeing all that F# action suggests that that’s kind of the tonal center. But this is all academic without hearing it... the other thing to consider when doing this kind of analysis is whether or not the artist appears to be beholden to any mirage of ‘rules’ for writing harmonic motion

Thanks for the reply.

Did the embedded mp3 not work for anyone?

 

[foal30]

Thanks for the reply.

Did the embedded mp3 not work for anyone?

Not for me however given my dearth of Computer skills it could be a self-inflicted issue.

 

[AndyPanda]

Thanks for the reply.

Did the embedded mp3 not work for anyone?

worked fine for me

 

[Whousedtoplay]

the chords in the verse and chorus are;
F#m
E

It's an Aeolian harmony/chord progression as in i - bVII - i.

I just wonder.

Here is a simple 1-measure bass line template during the F#min7(add11) bar.
That F#min11(omit 9) is more like A6/9 over F# to me, but...
(N.B. F#min11(omit 9) = F#min7(add 11), because I try to avoid that 9th degree.

Should we call that chord A6/9 when the bass plays A?