I have a song that I want to determin the key its in. The firts part goes E G F#. The next part is G G# A#. The last part is E G. I guess I should ask what kind of scale would be played with this too.
I'm may be new to this but I did search the internet and didn't find anything that could help me.
Any suggestion on how to figure this out?
Thanks
Philthy
Are those chords or notes? And if they're chords, are they really all major?
You've got three notes that are a half step apart (F#-G-G#), which only happens in chromatic scales, blues scales, and some real odd scales, which is why I'd like more info to give you an answer...
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Sorry about that. They are all power cords.
Ok, so the power chords E-G-F#, G-G#-A, E-G. The first thing that comes to my mind is that the E-F#-G arrangement is 1-2-b3 in E, so E minor... G is the relative major to E minor, so it makes sense that the next section starts on G. The G# would have to be a passing tone - you're not sitting there too long, I'll bet, and that sort of chromatic motion is common in lots of music. Then it would finish up E(m) - G (major).
So much for gut feel... how do you figure out something like this? Most songs include the V chord at some point, since the resolution of V-I is very strong. Yours doesn't have one, so that's no clue. The only key that would contain both I and V is A (the V would be E), and you'd end up closing with I-V-bVII.
Next stab at it... most progressions end on the tonic (I) chord. Since this has all power chords, we don't know if they're major or minor.... they can fill in for either. Assuming the last chord of each section might be the I, we'd have:
F# as I: bVII-bII-I, bII-II-bIII, bVII-bII (not very likely, with only I and II 'in key')
A as I: V-bVII-VI, bVII-VII-I, V-bVII (not very likely, but more chords in key)
G as I: VI-I-II, I-bII-II, VI-I. Except for the bII, all are in key.
Now we can check and see if G makes sense. In G, the chords are:
G-Am-Bm-C-D-Em-F#º
The F#º doesn't work out too well with all power chords... it should have a b5, and power chords have a natural 5.
G major is relative to E minor, though, which has these chords (using the harmonic version of the scale):
Em-F#m-G-Am-B-C-D#º
That works against your progression. You're in E minor, ending in the relative major of G. The progression with full chords would be:
Em-G-F#m, G-G#-Am, Em-G
For type of scale, E minor, Em pentatonic, G major. Others will work too... let your ear guide you.
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All power chord songs that include some kind of chromatic motion are in E minor. Plain and simple fact.
One thing NoteBoat missed...that's an A#, not an A.
A3 red, C5 red, F4 blue, F5 red. Bitches.
All power chord songs that include some kind of chromatic motion are in E minor. Plain and simple fact.
How do you figure?
Three Dog Night's "Joy To the World" is in G major; Elvis' "Jailhouse Rock" is in E major. Either one is usually done with power chords.
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I don't think there are ANY plain and simple facts in music. :?
But I am interested in hearing why you think they'd all be in E? :? :?
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well, I can understand that as a coincidence, though I don't have the info to back it up
I don't follow my dreams, I just ask em' where they're going and catch up with them later.
-Mitch Hedburg
Did you see that!
Oh come on, it was a joke. Lots of bad thrash metal uses all power chords, all down strokes, and its in E minor, with lots of chromatics. All my metalhead guitarist friends write all their songs in E minor, with chromatics. I was only kidding =P
A3 red, C5 red, F4 blue, F5 red. Bitches.
Oh yeah, I knew that. :lol: :lol:
What were we talking about again??? :lol:
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Oh come on, it was a joke. Lots of bad thrash metal uses all power chords, all down strokes, and its in E minor, with lots of chromatics. All my metalhead guitarist friends write all their songs in E minor, with chromatics. I was only kidding =P
I thought it might have been, but it pays to be certain.
