Compositions in "the key of..." ...question for composers.

[GreenBurn]

Back in the days of Bach, Beethoven, etc. when they would compose song "in the key of A#) for example.....I'm sure they didn't only play A sharp chords (on the left hand) and A# scale notes with the right hand since these pieces were so damn complex. I'm trying to figure out music theory as far as the piano goes and I'm wondering why certain songs were named with the key like that when they most likely had chord progressions and idn't stay in the same chord and scale. Can anyone explain in detail?

[SampleCore]

A 'key' isn't a chord based off one key! The key of C major comprises all the white notes from C to the next C and therefore ALL chords based off each of those notes. A progression, I-IV-V, will be C-F-G. Even though different chords are used (F and G) it is still in the key of C major. You're using the fourth and fifth degrees, not just the root chord.

Please buy the book 'Writing Music for Hit Songs.' These basic concepts (and plenty more) are communicated very well and you will benefit beyond measure from the few dollars you will spend.

[GreenBurn]

A 'key' isn't a chord based off one key! The key of C major comprises all the white notes from C to the next C and therefore ALL chords based off each of those notes. A progression, I-IV-V, will be C-F-G. Even though different chords are used (F and G) it is still in the key of C major. You're using the fourth and fifth degrees, not just the root chord.

Please buy the book 'Writing Music for Hit Songs.' These basic concepts (and plenty more) are communicated very well and you will benefit beyond measure from the few dollars you will spend.

You actually just made it clear as day for me. I am also going to pick up that literature. Thanks a million!

[Delphine]

Scale or 'key' is a different concept than the one which you imagine it to be. Have a read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_(music)

[edit] Hmm, that link don't work. Anyway, in the meantime, you can find out a lot of info before you buy a book, just google 'what is a music scale' and you'll find tons of info.

[GreenBurn]

Scale or 'key' is a different concept than the one which you imagine it to be. Have a read here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scale_(music)

[edit] Hmm, that link don't work. Anyway, in the meantime, you can find out a lot of info before you buy a book, just google 'what is a music scale' and you'll find tons of info.

I understand that scale and key are different and I have read the Ravenspiral guide to music composition but it went further in detail than I'm concerned. It confused me regarding the concepts of how chords/scalres/key interact.

[Delphine]

Scale and 'key' are the same thing, people often refer to it by calling it a scale, others might ask "what key is it in". Both are synonomous though.

There is a name for each scale degree - which is each note in the scale, there is also a chord built on each note of the scale. They are called diatonic chords which means they are made up of notes within the scale.

Here's a good resource: http://chordmaps.com/ It's more about chords but you can't really separate things, you'll need to understand this concept too to understand scales.

[A.I.Music]

Scale and Key are slightly different, but they relate to each other sooo much that you might as well call them the same thing. A key of a song relates to the overall tonality, the scale relates to the smaller tones inside the song if that makes sense e.g. Your house (The Key) is the property you live in and you're furniture (The Scale) is what gives it character etc... if that makes sense.

Also it depends on if the key of the song is Major/Minor/Melodic Minor/Harmonic Minor etc... this is where you get something called harmonising a scale for e.g. (We're going to stick with harmonising the Cmaj scale as it has no b's or #'s)

The key of a song is
Cmaj.

The scale is
C D E F G A B C(octave)

The harmonisation is
Cmaj Dmin Emin Fmaj Gdom Amin Bhalf.dim
...I.....II.....III....IV.....V......VI....VII.....

Each harmonised chord has a scale name associated with it.
I Ionion Mode
II Dorian Mode
III Phrygian Mode
IV Lydian Mode
V Mixolydian Mode
VI Aeolian Mode
VII Locrian Mode

So if you're in the Key of Cmaj and you are jamming Fmaj (4th position in key of Cmaj) then you would solo using the Lydian Mode...

Sorry for all the blabber, I'm just trying to cover the basic grounds....