Getting the Key to Songs

[SickTangerine]

Hi all

I know of the methods to find the keys/scales of certain songs, but sometimes, I just need the extra help. Others too, maybe.

So I figured in this topic, you post the name of a song you need the key of/or scale, and hopefully someone can answer.

What I need atm:

Key/Scale for Bring it on Home

Key for You Shook Me

That's all I have for now, I have a suspicion BIOH is inb the key of E, but I need to make sure. Also need the scale so I can jam out

Thanks a ton! I hope this will help people

[marmorek]

Both songs are in E and use a blues scale.

[SickTangerine]

Both songs are in E and use a blues scale.

Thank you, I suspected that was what it was.

[WillTheBassist]

New member here.

I was wondering if anyone could tell me what key Good Times Bad Times is in please as I am performing it on bass for coursework and need to write it up in my evaluation.

Thanks in advance.

[huw]

...what key Good Times Bad Times is in...

This is from memory so doen't sue me if I miss something, but it moves about a bit...

Main riff in E, although because it's emphasises a D rather than a D# that would make in E mixolydian rather than plain E major (to be pedantic there IS a D# inthe chromatic walk up at the end of the riff, but it's just a passing note).

Chorus changes key - you've got the first line using primarily A mixolydian (chords of A G & D), then it goes up to B mixolydian (chords of B A & E).

Second verse is over a different riff, this time in F#m.

Repeat of the chorus is a tone higher than last time, so B mixolydian moving up to C# mixolydian.

Guitar solo over a variation of the chorus riff, but this time in E (Page just plays his typical mixture of major & minor pentatonics)

Chorus in original key (A up to B.)

Ride out over main riff in E mixolydian.

Easy really

[WillTheBassist]

This is from memory so doen't sue me if I miss something, but it moves about a bit...

Main riff in E, although because it's emphasises a D rather than a D# that would make in E mixolydian rather than plain E major (to be pedantic there IS a D# inthe chromatic walk up at the end of the riff, but it's just a passing note).

Chorus changes key - you've got the first line using primarily A mixolydian (chords of A G & D), then it goes up to B mixolydian (chords of B A & E).

Second verse is over a different riff, this time in F#m.

Repeat of the chorus is a tone higher than last time, so B mixolydian moving up to C# mixolydian.

Guitar solo over a variation of the chorus riff, but this time in E (Page just plays his typical mixture of major & minor pentatonics)

Chorus in original key (A up to B.)

Ride out over main riff in E mixolydian.

Easy really

Thanks. I have written it all up recorded it an got an A* so I am really chuffed.

A huge thank you!

[FireOpal]

This is from memory so doen't sue me if I miss something, but it moves about a bit...

Main riff in E, although because it's emphasises a D rather than a D# that would make in E mixolydian rather than plain E major (to be pedantic there IS a D# inthe chromatic walk up at the end of the riff, but it's just a passing note).

Chorus changes key - you've got the first line using primarily A mixolydian (chords of A G & D), then it goes up to B mixolydian (chords of B A & E).

Second verse is over a different riff, this time in F#m.

Repeat of the chorus is a tone higher than last time, so B mixolydian moving up to C# mixolydian.

Guitar solo over a variation of the chorus riff, but this time in E (Page just plays his typical mixture of major & minor pentatonics)

Chorus in original key (A up to B.)

Ride out over main riff in E mixolydian.

Easy really

Smarty pants! Do you have a method that you use to figure out the key? I try to figure out the song by ear, then look at chord charts in a book, showing the keys and associated I, IV, V chords to see what matches up. I'll be honest, the results have been mixed [translation: I'm not a wizard at this stuff]

[huw]

Smarty pants! Do you have a method that you use to figure out the key?

Well my band used to play that one so it's all still fairly fresh in my head as to what actually gets played.

As far as analysis goes...

Now this is going to sound complicated, but it's one of those things that takes longer to set down on paper (or in this case a screen) that it does to actually do, so don't be put off by how long this post gets.

As far as a method goes the first thing is to find where "home" is: what chord (or what note) does the music resolve back to? If you take the opening of GTBT you get the E chord pounded out a few times before the riff, so that's a big clue that E is likely to be "home", then the riff itself keeps leading back to that E power chord again. So that's pretty much case closed for that part of the song - we're in "E something". Then to find out exactly what key/mode of E look at the rest of the notes. The riff starts with a figure based on a Dmajor arpeggio (DF#A) then does that chromatic walk up from C# (C#DD#E). So if you add the E & B from the E power chord and write that all out, from E (because we've already aggreed that E is "home") you get:

EF#ABC#DD#E

In terms of intervals from E that is:

1 2 4 5 6 b7 7

Interestingly there's no 3rd and two 7ths...

The 3rd first. I'm just assuming a major 3rd (G#) rather than a minor one (G) because taken as a whole the riff just sounds major to me. If you try playing an E major chord instead of the power chord it sounds fine (I'm not entirely convinced that Pagey didn't do this from time to time); if you try the riff with an E minor chord instead of the power chord it doesn't sound right. OK then G#:

EF#G#ABC#DD# = 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 7

Now what about the mystery of the two 7ths? Look at how many times they occur: the D is played 5 times, the D# only once. The D is played as part of an arpeggio, so is harmonically related to the other notes, the D# is in a chromatic climb. I'd say that was case closed for the D being the important note & the D# just being a passing note.

So that leaves:

EF#G#ABC#DE = 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 = mixolydian mode.

Now in actual fact I didn't sit down & work that all out that laboriously - I've been doing this for a looooooong time and could prety much see all that in one go. BUT that's only through practice - when I first started looking at this stuff I would have had to sit down & go through it step by step. The more you do it the easier it gets.

Ok onwards to the chorus:

That first pattern of chords - A / G D - is one that I just know on sight as A mixolydian, but the method only takes a little time:

"Home" is the A chord - that's pretty easy to hear (played twice as long as the other chords & they circle back to A). Write out the notes, from A:

A = A C# E (again the C# may not actually be played but it can be infered - try playing an Am & it sounds wrong)

G = G B D

D = D F# A

From A = ABC#DEF#G = 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 = A mixolydian.

The next part of the chorus is the same, just shifted up to B, so B mixolydian is a given.

The F#m verse is both easy (pretty much one chord plus a twiddley bit) and interesting: it only uses the notes F# A B C# E = 1 b3 4 5 b7 > it's entirely pentatonic so we can't call it anything more than just "minor": to pin it down to aolian, dorian, or phrygian modes we'd need the 2nd & especially the 6th.

Anyway - that's it. Everything esle is either the same as before or a variation on what's gone before.

[FireOpal]

Thank you SO MUCH! It's awfully kind of you (huw) to take the time to help others who are trying to learn this fascinating mystery called music.

I've printed out your post and am going to spend some quality time with my guitar this weekend.