COMMON KEY'S

[willem]

rcsnydley wrote:

My vote goes for C, A, G, E, D, Am, Em there are of course others but these are probably the most widely used especially for guitar. These 7 keys are used in literally used in millions of songs.

The thing to remember also is that even though a song is in a particular key doesn't mean it it can't or won't borrow chords for other keys (parallel minor, parallel major or nearby keys). It also doesn't mean it has to or will stay in the key it started in, but that's different story.Ric

can you tell the story?

[BigBear]

mark wrote:

I would say the most common are

C G A E D and Am

I don't know any songs in B or F (as far as I know)

I agree with you Mark!

[TGSuzanne]

I think the most common guitar keys are C, G, D, A, E and then the relative minors of those keys; Am, Em, Bm, and maybe F#m rarely C# min. I don't know of many guitar tunes in B major. I know guitarists avoid the flat keys like the plague. :silly:

[rcsnydley]

tgsuzanne wrote:

I think the most common guitar keys are C, G, D, A, E and then the relative minors of those keys; Am, Em, Bm, and maybe F#m rarely C# min. I don't know of many guitar tunes in B major. I know guitarists avoid the flat keys like the plague. :silly:

I actually wrote my best song in the key of Bb and a second one in Bb also. On the guitar if you capo on the 3rd fret and play in G it makes it easier to do songs in Bb.

Ric

[rcsnydley]

willem wrote:

rcsnydley wrote:

My vote goes for C, A, G, E, D, Am, Em there are of course others but these are probably the most widely used especially for guitar. These 7 keys are used in literally used in millions of songs.

The thing to remember also is that even though a song is in a particular key doesn't mean it it can't or won't borrow chords for other keys (parallel minor, parallel major or nearby keys). It also doesn't mean it has to or will stay in the key it started in, but that's different story.Ric

can you tell the story?

The story goes like this.

Chapter 1:
I wrote a song in G major, but during the chorus the melody goes to a G minor. This is the parallel minor (not the relative minor) of the G major. Instead of letting the chords dictate the melody, let the melody suggest the chords.

Chapter 2:
I read about writing a song in three keys, starting with a key and then modulating to the 4th of that key and then modulating to the 5th of the original key and then back to the starting key.

I thought that sounded cool so I wrote a song that starts in the key of C, I use a C7 chord which is the V7 chord in the key of F (the IV chord in the key of C) to modulate to F. I then use a D7 (the V7 in the key of G) to get me into the key of G (the V of the original key of C). I then use a G7 (you guessed it, the V7 in C) to get back to the key of C.

This was a fun exercise and the song is kind of interesting because I also change tempo in the different sections. Also, the C an F parts have lyrics and the G part is instrumental.

The End.

Ric

[reiver]

rcsnydley wrote:

tgsuzanne wrote:

I think the most common guitar keys are C, G, D, A, E and then the relative minors of those keys; Am, Em, Bm, and maybe F#m rarely C# min. I don't know of many guitar tunes in B major. I know guitarists avoid the flat keys like the plague. :silly:

I actually wrote my best song in the key of Bb and a second one in Bb also. On the guitar if you capo on the 3rd fret and play in G it makes it easier to do songs in Bb.

Ric

This poses an interesting question. If you capo at the 3rd fret and use the chords from the key of G, you may be playing in Bb, but are you actually composing in Bb. I think I would consider that to be composing in G. :S

r

[rcsnydley]

reiver wrote:

rcsnydley wrote:

tgsuzanne wrote:

I think the most common guitar keys are C, G, D, A, E and then the relative minors of those keys; Am, Em, Bm, and maybe F#m rarely C# min. I don't know of many guitar tunes in B major. I know guitarists avoid the flat keys like the plague. :silly:

I actually wrote my best song in the key of Bb and a second one in Bb also. On the guitar if you capo on the 3rd fret and play in G it makes it easier to do songs in Bb.

Ric

This poses an interesting question. If you capo at the 3rd fret and use the chords from the key of G, you may be playing in Bb, but are you actually composing in Bb. I think I would consider that to be composing in G. :S

r

I actually wrote the song originally in Bb un-capoed. After a month or so of playing it with all barre chords (yes, ever chord in the song is a barre chord) I decided to transpose it to something easier to play, hence, the G on the 3rd fret. Now most of it is open chords, though there are still some barre chords in the chorus and bridge.

I like the sound of the key of Bb it is just challenging to play because of the proliferation of barre chords.

Ric

[willem]

ThANKS RiC, YES modulation i understand,that can be common in songs,but what about borrow chords or chord..

[rcsnydley]

willem wrote:

ThANKS RiC, YES modulation i understand,that can be common in songs,but what about borrow chords or chord..

In the chapter 1 example above the Gm was "borrowed" from the parallel minor key of Gm, since the song is in G major.

I wrote another song in the key of Bb (Bb, Cm, Dm, Eb, F, Gm, Adim) at one point in the bridge I borrow an Ab chord from the neighboring key of Ab. Since Ab is not in the original key it is a "borrowed" chord.

Ric

[willem]

rcsnydley wrote:

willem wrote:

ThANKS RiC, YES modulation i understand,that can be common in songs,but what about borrow chords or chord..

In the chapter 1 example above the Gm was "borrowed" from the parallel minor key of Gm, since the song is in G major.

I wrote another song in the key of Bb (Bb, Cm, Dm, Eb, F, Gm, Adim) at one point in the bridge I borrow an Ab chord from the neighboring key of Ab. Since Ab is not in the original key it is a "borrowed" chord.

Ric

and where goes Ab to, i mean after it?

Ric, are you a songwriter?? a famous one??