Does anybody know which key this song is in?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Triga
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Two chords throughout

ii7-I any key will do. The key for this track is Ab, so the chords are

Bbmin7 (BbDbFAb) - Ab (AbCEb) sometimes AbMaj7 (AbCEbG)

You need to listen to more Quincy Jones from the late 70's and early 80's (this was his sound back then)
 
How did you find that out? Do you play notes until you find the one that sits the best?
 
I'm 48 and have done a lot of ear training in the past - I can generally hear a progression before playing it.

In this case - I listened to the track as I reached for my guitar - I heard Neil Young's "Lotta Love" as the chord progression which is ii7-1(#7).

So I knew I was trying to find two notes moving by a scale step down from to the other to get the bass line.

Cue the "Testing the waters" - I knew it wasn't C or G or E - been playing long enough to hear the rough region. Messed with Fm-Eb didn't work, but the F and Eb were part of the two chords, so process of elimination meant not Dm-C (see above) leaving me with Bbmin-Ab - played it a few times as it was playing perfect fit.

Ear training is an important tool for capturing this sort of stuff quickly, try teoria . com's ear training programs well worth the time spent.
 
I am sorry Bandcoach... but I don't hear a II - I progression....
I admit that the song is slightly out of tune compared to the usual 440hz reference, making things difficult if trying to match things with a piano...

but you have a reasonably trained ear, no need to take the guitar or the piano to hear two min7 chords, the IV and the I, with the bass always playing the same I-I-IV I-I-IV line... (if we consider the song is in a minor mode, so the I is a minor chord)

the key is around Bb... so you have Ebm7 - Bbm7 ... and the bass is in fact always playing the two roots...

Are you sure you were listening to bubble showers by B Bravo ?
I don't have time right now, but this tune (at least the basic structure) is really easy to recreate...

---------- Post added at 02:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:42 PM ----------

hmm I was curious and checked "Lotta Love" by Neil Young.. I discovered a great and nice song! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELakJxPiieU)

on this video, the chord progression is not II - I but IV - III
the key is D, and the chords are GMaj7 - Fm7


i had a teacher once who showed us that the normal chord sequence is a bit complex on the guitar, but really easy to understand on the piano, in the key of C. Simply use your 4 fingers to play C - E - G - B
This is IMaj7, CMaj7.
And then move one key to the right, D - F - A -C that is IIm7
and so on...

The Lotta Love chord progression can be played by playing the 4th
(FMaj7) then the 3rd (Em7) and back to FMaj7...

---------- Post added at 02:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:10 PM ----------

oh, I am realizing that the thing i said concerning the chords you can play with 4 notes on the piano, by simply shifting each time by a white key on the right, is the normal "ionian mode" chord progression

IMaj7 IIm7 IIIm7 IVMaj7 V7 VIm7 VIIm7,5b

When I said that the song "bubble showers" was using the a IVm7 - Im7, it is the case if you consider the song is in a minor mode, which is the case, I think (whereas "Lotta Love" is more of a major mode song, but the genius thing is that he never reaches the root key except maybe at 1:08)

To be honest, I don't care about modes... I simply hear the chords...
I am 38 but when I started playing the guitar at 6, my father was playing chords and I had to recognize them by ear...
 
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Well, I respectfully disagree.

I actually went a step further and investigated the chords with my DAW - and reproduced it pretty well using Bbm7 (Bb Db F Ab) ~ AbMaj7 (Ab C Eb G)

I also presume you meant Ebm7 (Eb Gb Bb Db) - Bbm7 (Bb Db F Ab).

As for the Lotta Love, well it has been 25 years since I last listened to it

you will find it easier to read and understand vii7b5 than vii7,5b as the former reads like the guitar chord without a naming note whereas the latter is an intellectual exercise waiting to be failed.
 
Hi Bandcoach,

I won't argue, music is also how you "feel" it...
I intuitively "feel" what I wrote, but yes, you found a big typo, I meant Ebm7 and Bbm7.

For the vii7b5, yes I agree, easier to read than vii7,5b.
But I was not sure was the notation was, so in fact I copied paste from wikipedia. I should have trust my memory :)

I checked your music, we are not in the same style, but you have some nice ambient tunes there!

I personnaly now write hiphop beats, with limited chord progressions... (frozenjazz.com) but I used to me more on the jazz side (soundclick.com/cedricsimon.com)

No now, back to the subject, the OP has two ideas for the chord progression...

either Bm7 - AMaj7 or Bm7 - Em7
 
I completely forgot about this. The chords frozenjazz has named sound more accurate, so the key is around Bb you say?
 
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