Why does Em key has A instead of Am?

[Mystery123]

I'm learning a song that starts with Em.
1st line: Em D Bm Em
2nd line: Em D A Em
Verse:
Em A Em
Em A F#m Em

Shouldn't it have Am?
I tried Am instead of A and it sounds bad.
A definitely sounds good.

Now how do I know to use A on a Em key if I don't look at the tabs?

[pjroberts]

Am is the right chord for e minor key, but the writer probably substituted A because it sounded better in context or with the melody. There are no real rules. I think if theory as just that — theory, or for me, guidelines. Like all rules, there are exceptions, and sometimes the rules need to be broken.

What’s the song? How would you know ? Sometimes you gotta wing it by ear:-) In this case even your ear is telling you the Am is not right, but that’s probably because the writer made the call and that’s the rule for that song now, and the way you’re used to hearing it.

[jstroop]

Is the song written in D? Two sharps? That would make Em, Bm and A “belong” in the chord progression.

[jseth]

The song is based on the key of D major; E- is the second chord of the D major chord scale... your clue was the A7 chord (the V7 chord). The V chord is usually a great indicator of where "home base" is...

E- is the natural minor of G major, but it is also the III-7 in the key of C.

It pays to know your major chord scales...

[Silly Moustache]

I---- Em
II -- F#m7b5
III - Gmaj7+5
IV - Amin7
V-- B7
VI -Cmaj7
VII--D#dim

I really struggled with all this some time ago, so I constructed a spreadsheet to create all scales.

This is what it showed me for Em.

However , the major/minor thing CAN be changed esp. on the II, III, and VI.

But it is all about the melody.

[mattbn73]

Songs very often begin or end with the tonic chord. That's a good starting point for determining the key, but it's not a rule. In this case, it starts on a different chord, the II chord. The key is determined but the other chords in the progression.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Mystery123

I'm learning a song that starts with Em.
1st line: Em D Bm Em
2nd line: Em D A Em
Verse:
Em A Em
Em A F#m Em

Shouldn't it have Am?
I tried Am instead of A and it sounds bad.
A definitely sounds good.

Now how do I know to use A on a Em key if I don't look at the tabs?

Using A major - provided Em really sounds like the key chord - means the song is in E dorian mode. It's a very common alternative to both E natural minor, aka E aeolian mode (with Am and Bm), and the classic E minor key (with Am and B7).

E dorian mode is the same notes as D major, but E is the keynote, not D.

It would also be common to "mix modes" - i.e., use both Am and A major, or Bm and B7, at different points.

The "rules" are in the sense of "common practices" - what most people do "as a rule", because they like it or because most other people do it, not what anyone says they must do!

[pieterh]

Picking up on what others have said, while Am is the “accepted” chord in the key of Em it really depends on the song and the music - by throwing in a major third where harmonic theory would suggest a minor third produces a change that pricks up our ears and makes the piece more interesting. Chord and scale theory is a way of building up a chord in a specific key assuming that the notes of the scale retain their relative intervals.

However another way of looking at it is that many songs change key all the time in a sense but if written in notation would utilise accidentals (sharps and flats to differentiate the notes from their naturals, ie where they are according to the key signature) rather than a key signature change.

Out of curiosity - what song is it?

[Nymuso]

OP, I see by scanning that you've gotten lots of theory based answers, and they are not wrong. But the single best answer you yourself gave - it sounds good.

And that is what we are in the business of doing - making it sound good, making it sound right, making it pleasing to the ear; or, in some cases using dissonance to make it not pleasing for dramatic purposes.

Over my decades of playing I have had this discussion with many formally schooled musicians but none have dissuaded me from my conclusion: If it sounds right, it is right.

[Nailpicker]

Originally Posted by Nymuso

OP, I see by scanning that you've gotten lots of theory based answers, and they are not wrong. But the single best answer you yourself gave - it sounds good.

And that is what we are in the business of doing - making it sound good, making it sound right, making it pleasing to the ear; or, in some cases using dissonance to make it not pleasing for dramatic purposes.

Over my decades of playing I have had this discussion with many formally schooled musicians but none have dissuaded me from my conclusion: If it sounds right, it is right.

You beat me to it.

[DenverSteve]

Originally Posted by Nymuso

OP, I see by scanning that you've gotten lots of theory based answers, and they are not wrong. But the single best answer you yourself gave - it sounds good.

This. If it sounds good, it's okay. Sometimes you just go with that.

[SunnyDee]

Originally Posted by Mystery123

I'm learning a song that starts with Em.
1st line: Em D Bm Em
2nd line: Em D A Em
Verse:
Em A Em
Em A F#m Em

Shouldn't it have Am?
I tried Am instead of A and it sounds bad.
A definitely sounds good.

Now how do I know to use A on a Em key if I don't look at the tabs?

Just curious. What's the song? Is it one we'd know?

[Wengr]

Investigate the melodic minor scale, with special attention to the classical descending melodic minor. You may find the answer there.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Nymuso

OP, I see by scanning that you've gotten lots of theory based answers, and they are not wrong. But the single best answer you yourself gave - it sounds good.

And that is what we are in the business of doing - making it sound good, making it sound right, making it pleasing to the ear; or, in some cases using dissonance to make it not pleasing for dramatic purposes.

Over my decades of playing I have had this discussion with many formally schooled musicians but none have dissuaded me from my conclusion: If it sounds right, it is right.

Of course. No one would seriously dispute that!
The role of theory is not to pass judgement, right or wrong - nor even to explain - merely to describe.

I gave a theory answer as a way of saying "yes this phenomenon is common and recognised". The question of "should" or "shouldn't" is decided purely by sound.
Questions of right and wrong may then arise when we decide what name to give the sound. The rules of theory are only about terminology, not about what's right or wrong in the music itself. Even then, musicians don't have to care about the terminology!

[jstroop]

Originally Posted by Mystery123

... Now how do I know to use A on a Em key if I don't look at the tabs?

This post may be WAY more than you want to know, but it answers this question (and many more) about chord usage.
https://artdavisstudios.com/2015/10/...ssions-part-i/