2 questions about writing songs for guitar?

Question:1) What is a key and how do you know which key you are in?

2) How do you know what chords go with your music?

ex) If the first chord I played in song was a G major chord would my song be in the key of G?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: 1) What is a key and how do you know which key you are in?

2) How do you know what chords go with your music?

ex) If the first chord I played in song was a G major chord would my song be in the key of G?

A key is the tonal center of the song you are writing. You can tell what key you are in by what the root note of the root (1) chord is. Take a song like "Wake me up, When September Comes" by Greenday. The root chord or one chord is G Major. You can tell because the first note they play (and even double) is G, followed by a D (the fifth - G - A - B - C - D / 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5)

I mentioned this because it goes along with your example. You would normally be right, but occasionally the song starts on the fifth, and G would then be the dominant chord (the fifth) which would be followed by the Tonic or root (one chord)

The reason you want to know what key your song is in, is so you can communicate that knowledge to other musicians and save a lot of time. Understanding music is all about saving time so you can play more songs while you are together, and minimize the time you are practicing together so you have more time to go out and play for people. (and possibly even make money!)

the chords that go with the simplest songs are the

! / IV V

I / VI / II / IV

things like that.

In the key of G they would be

G / C / D

or G / Emin / Amin / D7

or something similar.

Obviously there are hundreds of combinations but I wanted to give you a couple of simple examples.

Once you get your chord sequence plotted out, you need to decide the format of your verses and choruses. Sometimes a song will start with the chorus and follow into a verse, and sometimes the song starts with a verse or even two verses. It all depends on how you decide to set it up. the chorus is usually shorter and more emotion driven than the song. The verse is usually the story, and the chorus is usually the sales pitch. If you think of it like a joke, the verse is the buildup and the chorus is the punchline.

Anyway, thinking in baseball metaphor, your key signature is home base, your chord sequence is like running the bases, and the whole process is designed to hit a home run and score points with your audience. Hope this helps.

Don't think so much. Feel it. Hear it in your head. Play what you fell or hear.

your example is correct. just make sure the rest of the song dosnt stray far from your base chord. but above all, dont get to wraped up in the rules of chords. music is from your heart. find what feels and sounds right and go with it.

1)find the last sharp you play in the song and go up 1 note
2)no

Sweeett dude ur getting into guitars! ALRIGHT! I just got a new one last month. (HOORAYY!!) Ok, i know that this answer is probably not what you're looking for, but my advice is that you don't pay any attention to all that stuff. Just play what sounds awesome! Find the style of music you like, look some stuff up about it on the internet. So my point is: just have fun and rock out! GOOD LUCK!!! ^_^

Music theory is quite involved, but most music (especially written by beginners) won't be overly complex. The 'key' of the music you write is where the music feels 'at rest,' that is, where it seems to want to end. More often than not it is the chord you start on, but not always by any means. A song in the key of G major might start with a D major chord, or a C major chord, or an A minor chord. If you are looking at sheet music you can tell the key signature by the sharps or flats, but once again, you need to study to know how to tell. There are probably some music theory books in your public library, if the subject intrigues you.

That last chord in the song typically defines your key.

Most songs have recurring patterns, such as 1, 4, 5 (G, C, D)