What key?

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kinkin Frets: 1015
So, instead of my usual noodling and occasionally coming up with little riffs and progressions , I decided to be more disciplined and pick a key and use the chords therein to come up with something, in the hope that I would gain more understanding of keys and how things fit together.

Things went fine with E Major and B major, but today I messed around first and because I liked the way the first two chords sounded together I'm now stuck trying to find out what key I'm in.

The progression goes back and forth between  G # minor to F # Major a few times and then climbs from B b minor to B Major to D b 7 three times and on the fourth run up I change the final chord to D b Major before going back to G # minor and F # major.

Most of the chords seem to fit either G # natural minor or A b minor  ( I'm using a site called www.Guitar- chords.org.uk ) but the B b minor,  D b 7 and D b Major don't from what I can see.

Are they borrowed chords from parallel or closely related keys?  

Is there a simple answer as to why these chords seem to fit together but are not all in the same key or are they in the same key and I not looking at it the right way?




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Comments

  • GulliverGulliver Frets: 848
    edited April 2020
    All the chords are in F# major.  If your 'home' chord feels like the G#m then you're playing G# Dorian, which is why some of the chords don't fit in G# minor.

    If you think of the Bb minor as A# minor, and Db major as a C# major - it'll fit with what the website says.


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  • kinkin Frets: 1015
    Thanks @Gulliver , back to the drawing board, I’ve obviously got a lot more to learn!
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  • hollywoodroxhollywoodrox Frets: 4078
    @Gulliver  well done for stepping in there with some help , this forum is a font of wisdom indeed
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  • GulliverGulliver Frets: 848
    kin said:
    Thanks @Gulliver , back to the drawing board, I’ve obviously got a lot more to learn!

    Just remember - theory knowledge doesn't make you a good player.  It took me quite a while to learn it all, but knowing too much can sometimes become a hinderance or barrier to creating music.  I'll be trying to write something and rather than listening for what I want to come next, I dip in to the theory to write, rather than the sound.


    Or you try and write something unnecessarily complicated because you know the theory and you end up writing a song in 11/8 that shifts key too much...
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  • Gulliver said:
    Or you try and write something unnecessarily complicated because you know the theory and you end up writing a song in 11/8 that shifts key too much...
    The very definition of prog! :D

    (And I still love listening to Gabriel-era Genesis, by the way)
    If you must have sex with a frog, wear a condom. If you want the frog to have fun, rib it.
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