#1
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Danny's Song key question
This is perhaps a music theory question. I'm learning to play Danny's Song by Loggins & Messina. The song starts out with 4 bars of D. I think this normally establishes the key of the song as D major. When I look at the chords in the song, I see
D C Bm E7 A G I recognize the D Bm A G as belonging to the key of D, but not the C and E7. Am I correct in saying that this song is in the key of D major, and is there a term for the chords that are outside the key of the song? |
#2
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The last chord of a song is often the key of the song.
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#3
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I think I play Danny's song the same as L&M and I play it in D. So from my experience yes it is in D Major.
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#4
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Danny Boy is very old traditional. I'd say it's in whatever key you want to sing it in.
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"Militantly left-handed." Lefty Acoustics Martin 00-15M Taylor 320e Baritone Cheap Righty Classical (played upside down ala Elizabeth Cotten) |
#5
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Danny Boy is a different song. This is about Danny's Song, a folk/pop hit from the 70's by Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina.
Is there a term for the out-of-key chords, like passing chords, or secondary chords, or are they simply called out-of-key chords? |
#6
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Oh, right, sorry.
__________________
"Militantly left-handed." Lefty Acoustics Martin 00-15M Taylor 320e Baritone Cheap Righty Classical (played upside down ala Elizabeth Cotten) |
#7
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Quote:
There's still that 1% though... And in jazz and older pop, it's a lot more than 1%. The real key of the song is whatever chord "sounds like home". That's why - as love the guitar said - the final chord of a song is a safer guide. Provide the song has a clear final chord that sounds final. A famous example of a song that neither starts nor finishes with the key chord is Waterloo Sunset. It starts and ends (fades out on) the V chord. But you can hear how that opening chord resolves to the key chord when the vocal starts. Quote:
C is a "borrowed chord". It's an example of the rock convention called "mode mixture", or "borrowing from the parallel minor". A major key will commonly have a bVII chord (like this), and might also have a bIII or bVI (F or Bb in this key), even a minor iv (Gm in this key) - which all come from the "parallel" key (D minor). E7 is a "secondary dominant". Labelled as "V/V", which means "dominant of the dominant". A key can have up to five secondary dominants, and V/V is the most common. As you can see, it leads directly to the V chord, A. Compare with how it sounds if you use Em or Em7 instead, and you'll hear the secondary dominant effect.
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"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen. |
#8
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JonPR, really awesome answer. Thank you!
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#9
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