Learning All the Keys

Lesson 10/85 | Study Time: 5 Min

Course: Jazz Fingerpicking Guitar

Learning All the Keys

The term "key" describes the central note around which a piece of music is based. E.g, a piece of music in the key of C would derive its notes and chords from a C major scale. A piece of music in the key of A would derive its notes and chords from the A major scale, and so on.

After you have learnt a scale or mode in one key, it is a good idea to practice playing in every key. E and A are fairly common keys for guitar, but if you are playing with a singer, you would have to play in whatever key suits their particular voice. That could be F# or Db for example. Piano players tend to like the keys of C, F and G, and horn players like flat keys such as F, Bb and Eb. So, you can see there are good reasons for learning to play equally well in every key.

A good way to learn to play in all keys is to use the key cycle (also called the cycle of 5ths or cycle of 4ths). It contains the names of all the keys and is fairly easy to memorise.

Think of the key cycle like a clock. Just as there are 12 points on the clock, there are also 12 keys. C is at the top and it contains no sharps or flats. Moving around clockwise you will find the next key is G, which contains one sharp (F#). The next key is D, which contains two sharps (F# and C#). Progressing further through the sharp keys each key contains an extra sharp, with the new sharp being the 7th note of the new key, the other sharps being any which were contained in the previous key. Therefore the key of A would automatically contain F# and C# which were in the key of D, plus G# which is the 7th note of the A major scale. As you progress around the cycle, each key introduces a new sharp. When you get to F# (at 6 o’clock), the new sharp is called E# which is enharmonically the same as F. Enharmonic means two different ways of writing the same note. Another example of enharmonic spelling would be F# and Gb This means that Gb could become the name of the key of F#. The key of F# contains six sharps, while the key of Gb contains six flats.

If you start at C again at the top of the cycle and go anti-clockwise you will progress through the flat keys. The key of F contains one flat (Bb), which then becomes the name of the next key around the cycle. In flat keys, the new flat is always the 4th degree of the new key. Continuing around the cycle, the key of Bb contains two flats (Bb and Eb) and so on.

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Class Sessions

1- Combining Chords and Runs 2- More Jazz Fingerpicking Styles 3- Advanced Picking Techniques 4- Jazz Chord Shapes 5- More Jazz Chord Shapes 6- INTRODUCTION 7- Single Note Runs 8- Basic Jazz Fingerpicking 9- Fingerpicking Technique 10- Fingerpicking a Melody 11- Traditional Jazz Styles 12- Scales 13- GLOSSARY OF MUSICAL TERMS 14- Octaves 15- Seven Flat Five 16- The Major Scale 17- Swing Rhythm 18- Alternating Thumb Style 19- Eleventh Chords 20- The Chromatic Scale 21- Arpeggio Style 22- Electronic Tuning 23- Bass Chord Style – Second Position 24- Playing Position 25- String Muting 26- Picking Four Notes Together 27- Seven Sharp Five 28- Right Hand – First Position 29- Hand Technique 30- Thumb Percussion 31- Staccato Chords 32- Dixieland Jazz 33- Tuning Your Guitar to the CD 34- Major Sixth Chords 35- Minor Seventh Chords 36- The Major Scale 37- Boogie Woogie 38- Using the Compact Disc 39- The Hammer-On 40- Minor Seven Flat Five 41- The Minor Scale 42- Picking the Strings 43- Left Hand Damping 44- Bass Chord Rhythms 45- Changing Chords 46- Thirteenth Chords 47- Thumb Percussion – Variation 48- Minor Ninth 49- Right Hand Damping 50- The Minor Pentatonic Scale 51- Chord Diagrams Used in This Book 52- Right Hand – Second Position 53- Major Seventh Chords 54- Ragtime Jazz 55- Omitting the Last Note Before a Chord Change 56- Diminished Chords 57- Jazz Chords &ndash; First Position 58- The Pull-Off 59- Scale Diagrams Used in This Book 60- The Major Pentatonic Scale 61- Lead-In Bass Notes 62- Alternative Bass Notes 63- Minor Sixth Chords 64- Seven Sharp Nine 65- Tablature 66- Lead-In Chords 67- Keys and Key Signatures 68- The Natural Minor Scale 69- Finger Roll 70- Tablature Symbols 71- Ninth Chords 72- The Slide 73- Relative Keys 74- Thirteen Flat Nine 75- Ghost Notes 76- Learning All the Keys 77- Thumb Slapping 78- Changing Right Hand Positions 79- Seven Sharp Five Flat Nine 80- Right Hand – Third Position 81- Major Six Add Nine 82- How Chords Are Formed 83- Right Hand – Fourth Position 84- Augmented Chords 85- More Scales and Patterns

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Learning All the Keys