Question:
in some songs in the chris tomlin songbook it says the name of the song then key of something underneath, for example
Your Grace Is Enough
key of (A)
please explain!
Answer:
Originally Posted by bananaman157 in some songs in the chris tomlin songbook it says the name of the song then key of something underneath, for example
Your Grace Is Enough
key of (A)
please explain! the key of the song is the major scale that is applied to the notes of the song...
i'm moving this thread to theory and technique.
Answer:
Originally Posted by bananaman157 in some songs in the chris tomlin songbook it says the name of the song then key of something underneath, for example
Your Grace Is Enough
key of (A)
please explain!
The key of a song is it's tonal center and the 'point' from which the chords and melody are typically created from.
Take for example the song "Forever".
Key of A.
The chords are:
verse - A - D - A - E - D/F#
chorus - A - F#m - E - D
All of those chords are derived from the notes in A major scale using simple triad (three note/1-3-5) assembly.
The A is the I (one) chord, the D is the IV (four) chord, the E is the V (five) chord and the F#m is the vi (six minor) chord.
The D/F# is a compound chord (slash chord) based on an inversion of the IV chord. For all intents, it's a IV chord with it's 3rd note in the bass.
Those names of I, IV, V, vi are basically from where the root note of the chord comes from according to the A major scale: A-B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-A
The melody and guitar riffs of the song are also built from using A major scale.
Please note that this is very basic theory and a very simple song to use as an example. On more challenging tunes the key of a song can change many times through just the verse or chorus and then you could add in transposing to another key and it becomes more advanced but for beginner's sake, the above example suits the purpose.
Answer:
Originally Posted by gtrdave On more challenging tunes the key of a song can change many times through just the verse or chorus
Not likely... unless you're playing jazz or classical music.
Even then, it's usually just a tonicization, not a key change.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Nate Not likely... unless you're playing jazz or classical music.
It's a very common "unless" in the world of jazz and some 'classical'.
Answer:
Originally Posted by gtrdave It's a very common "unless" in the world of jazz and some 'classical'. Actually, in some worship leading circles, it's very common. When we had a guest worship leader for Easter, I think every song had at least one key change.
Answer:
Originally Posted by thesteve Actually, in some worship leading circles, it's very common. When we had a guest worship leader for Easter, I think every song had at least one key change.
Yeah, but you probably didn't have a whole lot of #II, bvii, or whatever implying different keys without actually changing keys.