How do you actually know what key something’s in? For something so basic, it’s actually pretty hard to get a satisfactory answer to this. Is it the notes in the scale?
First chord of the song? Okay, the last chord. Okay, you’ve been watching some Beat Kitchen videos and the five chord, that dominant chord should give it away, right?
In the blues, every chord is dominant. And you’ve got yourself a southern anthem here that could be 5th, 3rd, 1th, or 1 flat 7th. To a lot of us, it’s just the chord that feels like home.
The problem is, as an explanation, that kind of sucks. This could be in B minor, but the melody sitting on that G, that 7th, doesn’t feel stable or resolved. It’s leading us somewhere else.
The chords are too. And by the time we hit the 5 chord, the melody, the harmony, and even the lyric is pushing us to that space we call home. We do define the key center based on that feeling, but that feeling comes from intent and is not always straightforward.
If you’re ready to incorporate the language of music into your music production, join us for the upcoming musician, Basic Elective. And if somebody who belongs in a Beat Kitchen glass, share this post.
