I made an arpeggio progression which I like, it's C#m-A-B. I then recorded a bass line underneath it based on those notes. (I don't have a bass guitar so I used the low E string of my elec. guitar tuned down to C#). But I was surprised that if I played a repeated E note on bass, it didn't sound very good with my progression, I was sure it would. I thought this song could easily be in Emaj (E=I A=IV B=V and C#m=vi). Is it because there is no Emaj chord in the arpeggio? In other words, for a song to be in a particular key, you need to have that tonic chord (the I or i) present somewhere in the rhythm guitar?
Thanks in advance.
Yes - If you want to establish the key of E major, you need a suitably placed E chord or at least an E note that makes itself felt as the key note. Playing an E note under those three chords won't do that. Under C#m it 'll just be absorbed into that chord, as it's the third. Under A it's the fifth and will make your A chord an unstable second inversion. (not necessarily a bad thing) Under B it'll clash as it's not a chord note. It could work though, but it won't be heard in the key of E.
