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How to Find a Song's Key

In classical music, the titles of the songs were often just the format in which the song was arranged and the key in which it was played. It's helpful to know what key the song is in because it allows you to improvise harmonies, bass notes, or even solos. But just because the key isn't in the title, that doesn't mean you can't find it.

Things You'll Need

  • Computer with Internet access
  • Circle of fifths
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Instructions

    • 1

      Get a circle of fifths chart by doing a Google search if you don't have one already.

    • 2

      Look up the tabs to the song, or even if it's a song you're writing on your own, and gather up all the notes that are being used. Then write them down on a piece of paper. This is called doing a pitch inventory.

    • 3

      Sort out the notes, and take special notice of the sharps or flats that are used in the song. Match up the given number of sharps or flats to the circle of fifths. Notice that in the key of C, there are no sharps or flats, while in the key of G, there is one sharp, the F sharp.

    • 4

      Verify your findings by checking to see if the key that you decide the song is in matches the first note played, which is often the song's key. Be careful, however, as this is not always the case, and the steps given above are a much more efficient way of finding the song's key.

Music Basics

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