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how to find the key of a track


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  • 4 months later...

Most pieces of music tend to remain "more-or-less centered" within a particular section of the scale, and they will typically repeatedly-emphasize what is the third or the fifth note of what will turn out to be "the key." 

 

Another clue is that, as they walk up-or-down a run of "adjacent notes that sound equally-spaced," they will consistently skip certain notes.  This is exactly the same way that "the key of C" skips notes (the black keys, of course).  The pattern (W=whole step, H=half step) is:  WWHWWWH, as you can see from your keyboard.  Since that pattern is asymmetrical, you can align the note-gap spacing that you see, to it.  (Now, this is only a suggestion, due to the notion of "musical modes.")  One note or set of notes will usually be emphasized in some way, perhaps by being frequently repeated or revisited, and these notes will usually turn out to be the tonic (first), third, or fifth note of the scale.

 

You can also highlight notes and ask Logic to suggest the chord that they form.

 

The composer often chooses a key that is "friendly" to a particular instrument ... the key of "E" for a guitar, for example ...

 

And finally, well, there is a certain "sounds-like" to it all.  You can hear when a piece of music is on its tonic or its fifth.  (Think "C" and "G" in the all-white-notes key of C.)

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