question about playing in keys

[ProblemKinder]

ok, so there I was sitting around a campfire and my buddy Steven pulls out his guitar and starts playing songs. When he gets a request and can't quite remember how to play it he says "hrmm now which key is that in again?" and someone says "G!" and then he somehow knows how to play the whole song.

now, I've done alot of searching for help on this subject and it seems as if everything I've read regarding playing in 'keys' involves notes. at this point I don't care about notes, I want to know strictly about chords. how does my friend know how to play an entire song just from knowing what key it's in? what are the different keys you can play a song in?

[ljguitar]

ok, so there I was sitting around a campfire and my buddy Steven pulls out his guitar and starts playing songs. When he gets a request and can't quite remember how to play it he says "hrmm now which key is that in again?" and someone says "G!" and then he somehow knows how to play the whole song.

now, I've done alot of searching for help on this subject and it seems as if everything I've read regarding playing in 'keys' involves notes. at this point I don't care about notes, I want to know strictly about chords. how does my friend know how to play an entire song just from knowing what key it's in? what are the different keys you can play a song in?
Hi PK...
First things first, Hello and welcome to the group! We are glad you have joined up.

Keys do reference notes, but they also involve chords.

If you look at some simple charts for some common songs, they will list the Chords above the lyrics at the place you are supposed to change them. Do you understand how to play some chords yet? If not, then ask your Buddy Steven to show some to you.

You could technically play a song in any of 12 different keys, but the most common guitar-friendly keys, especially for beginners, are C-A-G-E and D. All you have to learn is 6 chords in each key and you are on your way.

And some of the chords overlap from key to key so you really only have to develop a simple library of about 20 chords to keep up...

[JoeNewbie]

When someone says a song is in G, it means the tonic is G major. All chords in a song are referenced to the tonic. While the tonic isn't necessarily the first or last chord of a song (although it can be), it is usually the most significant one.

I was going to put in a comprehensive explanation but as I think about it I realize it would take me several pages of theory.

Music theory is very logical but it's also fairly complex. If you want to fully understand it, I'd recommend that you take formal lessons for a few months.

As for the example you mentioned, I often ask what key a song is in when I'm not totally sure I remember the progression, or when a popular song is played in different keys (which happens a lot).

[Fliss]

Hi, and welcome to the forum! I did a quick search and found a site with a table of which chords are in which key - hope this helps :)

http://www.abclearnguitar.com/transpose.html

Here's another site that gives chords in various keys:

http://www.drpsychotic.com/strike_a_chord/keyofa.html

Fliss

[Allman_Fan]

A long time ago, I decided I wanted to play the guitar and I played some chords for some weeks, months . . . I don't even remember. Confused and frustrated, I said to myself, "There has got to be some kind of logic or framework that all of this is based on I need to figure that out or else I'm not gonna get it."

So, I headed off in that direction. It has served me well, being able to apply what I learned to other instruments.

The thing I'm pointing out is that I HAD to do it that way. There was no way I could remember all of the chords in all of them songs! On the other hand, I've known some other folks who learn song exactly like the record and if you try to change keys, they look at you like a lost pup and say, "That's not how it goes."

When that happens, I usually just play it their way!

[daleyfolk]

Most folks who have been playing for awhile can feel the chord changes coming up, and if the song is familiar and is in a familiar key, it's pretty easy to hear when & where you should move.

If someone says "This song is in G", the experienced player knows that the chords will most likely be G,C,D,Am,Bm,Em. and has heard how these chords go together thousands of times.

If someone says "this song is in F#", we can still feel the changes come up, but might struggle trying to remember what the six magic chords are in that key...(That's why we have capos!!):up:

[ELK]

The relationships of the chords to one another in any key are more important than what key the song is in. As one person mentioned, a song can be played in ANY key as long as you keep the relationships the same, For example a I-IV-V progression in G is GCD, while the same progression in D is DGA. If a song has this type of chord progression, you can play the I-IV-V chords of any key and it will sound correct (as long as you are singing the notes of the song in the same key you are playing).
I have to change the key of most of the songs I play because of my relatively low vocal range, and I can usually find a key that works.

[wilbarger]

Once, I asked my instructor if he ever got lost while playing on stage.
"Sure." He said.
"What do you do then?" I asked.
"The first thing I do is remember the Key I am in." He said.
He laughed and said. "Then I look for the dots on the fretboard."
At the time we were discussing playing lead. The Key of the song was a home base for him in playing lead and it made sense to me that he would look for the notes in that key somewhere on the fretboard, to get his bearings and continue playing.