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{{Intermediate Lesson CrumbsThis lesson serves as a primer to understanding keys other than C Major and A Minor. This is the only lesson that addresses a specific key as such. Combining this lesson with the [[Circle of Fifths|9}}circle of fifths lesson]] and the upcoming [[Scales for all Positions|the all-positions lesson]] should be enough, so that you can learn any key you desire on your own.
eE--------------------------------------------0-- bB-----------------------------------0--1--3----- gG-----------------------------0--2-------------- dD--------------------0--2--4-------------------- aA-----------0--2--3----------------------------- eE--0--2--3--------------------------------------
→Open Position Scale
{{Top-Level Crumbs|1}}
{{Lesson Crumbs|2}}
{{Intermediate Lesson Crumbs|9}}
The '''key of G Major''' consists of the notes G A B C D E F{{s}}. G is a 5th above C, or one clockwise movement along the [[Circle of Fifths|circle of fifths]] above C. It shares all the same notes as [[C Major in Open Position and Alternate Picking|C Major]], except the F{{s}}, which is the leading tone in G Major.
=== Open Position Scale ===
o m r o m r o m p o m o i r o
E F# G A B C D E F# G A B C D E
While many songs have sections devoted to a modulation, it doesn't need to be so obvious. We may want to modulate out of the key for just a measure to play a certain melody we think will sound good over the current chord.
Even if a song does not modulate to another key, it may require being written in a certain key so that it fits the '''range ''' of a certain instrument. For instance, consider a piece written for clarinet, whose range is E3 to G6. The piece features an ascending 3 octave arpeggio run of the tonic chord, ending on the root note 3 octaves above the original note. There are only a few possible notes that this will work for without exceeding the clarinet's range: E, F, F{{s}} and G. If C Major is the key, the clarinet will not be able to play the piece. So the piece is written in a different key, such as E Major.
Even if an instrument's range is not the concern, '''timbre ''' might be. For instance, many songs written for guitar are written in E Minor. Even though the guitar could play the song in any minor key, the composer chose E Minor because the low E is the lowest note of the guitar. He had conceptualized hitting that low E in mind when he wrote the piece, which is deeper and more impactful than hitting the A or E{{f}} above low E.
If a song is written in one key for a certain instrument, but we want to play it with a different instrument, we may consider '''transposing''' the song to a different key. This simply means moving all the pitches/notes uniformly higher or lower. All the relative pitches between notes remain intact. However, now the piece may fit the instrument's range or desired timbre. For guitar, the easiest way to do this is to use a capo. All the chord fingerings will be identical.
== Homework ==
* Know that G Major is one clockwise movement from C Major on the circle of fifths.
* Know that E Minor is one clockwise movement from A Minor on the circle of fifths.
* Know that G Major and E Minor are relative keys.
* Know that G Major differs from C Major (or E Minor from A Minor) only by one note: F -> F{{s}}.
* Learn the diatonic chords of G Major/E Minor.
* Play the accompanying chords for the sample song above in open position.
* Play the melody for the sample song above.
* Play previous chord progression samples from C Major or A Minor in the key of G Major or E Minor. Use the roman numerals as your guide.
* Know the above reasons why playing in different keys can be useful.
== Q & A ==
== Related Lessons ==