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  #1  
Old 03-12-2011, 07:27 AM
tag0519 tag0519 is offline
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Default Music Keys

Hi All,

I'm just starting to learn Music Theory. What are the most common keys for genres such as Rock, Blues, Country and Jazz?

Thanks in advance,
-Tom
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  #2  
Old 03-12-2011, 08:58 AM
Kerbie Kerbie is offline
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C is the simplest with no sharps or flats. You most frequently see keys with one or two sharps/flats, like G and D or F and Bb. A lot of blues is in the key of E. It's a significant stereotype, but sharps frequently make music sound brighter or happier and flats darker or deeper. Theory can enhance your understanding of music, so learn and enjoy!
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Old 03-12-2011, 10:43 AM
Bikewer Bikewer is offline
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A number of keys just work well on the guitar if you're playing simpler chord forms. First-position chords with open strings.

"G" is almost stereotypical in bluegrass; no secret why Lester Flatt's famous little figure is called a "G-run".

For usually well-trained jazz guys, familiar with a wide variety of chords and inversions, the actual key presents little difficulty. However, if you're arranging a song for chord-melody, then some keys will put those melody notes in handier places than others.
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Old 03-12-2011, 11:50 AM
JonPR JonPR is offline
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The most common keys in guitar-based music are those which use the easiest chords.
Guitarists work with the easy chords they know, in any combination that sounds good. So any key that can make use of the chords C, G, D A, E, Em Am and Dm is favourite.
That means the major keys of G, D and A, with E and C slightly less common.
This applies to guitar-centered genres such as rock, folk, blues and country.

E major is very common in rock, but that's because they incorporate a lot of chords from E minor. Eg, in a song in E major, you will typically find a lot of D and G chords.

Common minor keys are Em and Am. Dm is a lot less common, because its iv chord (Gm) is a barre chord. That's also why C major is not as common as G or D, because its IV chord (F) is a tough barre chord.
(The V chord of E major and E minor is B, which is also a tough barre chord, but at least there's the option of the relatively easy B7.)

In jazz, the common keys are flat keys like F, Bb, Eb and Ab. That's because horns such as trumpets and sax are in the keys of Bb and Eb. (It's actually more difficult for a horn player to play in remote keys than it is for a guitarist. Guitarists can just move a scale pattern or chord shape a fret up or down; or use a capo. Horn players have completely different fingerings, and can also find it hard to play in tune in remote keys.)

For pianists of course, keys with the fewest black notes would probably be favoured: C, naturally, along with G, F, D and Bb.
There can be exceptions - for example Stevie Wonder seems to have an odd reference for the key Eb minor (6 flats in the key sig). This makes sense when you realise that the black keys of the piano form the Eb minor pentatonic scale - so it's still about ease of playing.
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Old 03-12-2011, 12:48 PM
shawlie shawlie is offline
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Very interesting reading - you learn a lot around here!

One thing I have noticed - for something like blues, it really depends on the style, and there are many. I probably know more blues songs in C than any other key (with G, A and D pretty much tied for distant second). But that's the more folk/ragtime influenced type.

Monotone bass seems to use lots of E and A (for the obvious reasons), other types use a lot of open-tunings. There's lots of variation.
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Old 03-12-2011, 01:07 PM
Bikewer Bikewer is offline
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"The key of C is the people's key..."
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Old 03-12-2011, 03:57 PM
mr. beaumont mr. beaumont is offline
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And Dm is the saddest of all keys!

All of the generalizations here are yes, generalizations, but they're pretty darn right.
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  #8  
Old 03-12-2011, 04:56 PM
tag0519 tag0519 is offline
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Great information here everyone ... Thanks!!
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