How To Tell What Key You Are In When You Have Sharps (#) In The Key Signature!
If you're going to be able to know what chord progressions are likely in each key, you obviously need to know how to find the key of a song quickly -- correct?
Here's how to instantly find what key you are in when there are sharps in the key signature of a song:
You know that the flats in any key signature always occur in the same order - B E A D G C F.
Sharps also occur in the same order -- except that order is BACKWARDS from the order of the flats. Instead of B E A D G C F, the order of the sharps is:
F - C - G - D - A - E - B
They always occur in that order in a key signature. You can memorize them by saying the flats backward, or make up a silly saying of some kind such as Fat Cats Go Down Alleys Eating Bologna.
All you do to find the key is:
Go up 1/2 step from the last sharp = that IS the key
And you already know that if you have no flats or sharps in the key signature, you are in the key of C major (or A minor -- but we'll take that option up later).
Get this down cold -- so you immediately know what key you're in when you have sharps in the key signature of a song. Why? Because once you know what key you are in, you also know which 3 chords are the most likely -- right?
Now that you know how to find the key of a song, it's time to get into chord progressions proper. Tune in same time, same station, next week, when we'll take up our first chord progressions named "Oh Duh!"