• The Most Practical Way To Master All 12 Keys

    in Experienced players,Playing By Ear,Transposing Keys

    I’m often asked the best way to learn all 12 keys and while I’ve advocated many methods in the past, the most practical way is to adapt my “3 x 12” rule.

    Simply put: Take 3 songs you know and learn them in all 12 keys.

    It helps if they are songs that utilize a variety of different chords. That’s why picking 3 is important because between them, you should get a good mix of chords off every tone of the scale.

    And since most songs follow the same patterns, you’d be surprised how few chords you really need to know to play in all 12 keys. Taking 3 different styled songs and learning them in all 12 keys usually gives you plenty.

    The easiest way is to simply start at the original key of the song and move every note up a half step.

    So if a song is in Eb major, you’ll attack E major next by literally taking every note in every chord and moving it up a half step.

    Transposing a song to a new key is no more than moving every note up the appropriate amount of notes.

    If the next key is a half step up, every note of every chord simply moves a half step up.

    However, if you’re trying to move to a new key 4 half steps up, then you need to move every note of every chord 4 half steps up. As long as you move the same distance for every note in every chord, the end result will be the same song in a new key.

    Exercise:

    Move these chords in F major to Gb major.

    Hint: Gb major is a half step higher than F major. That means every note is moved up a half step.

    F major 7: F + A + C + E

    D minor 7: D + F + A + C

    G minor 7: G + Bb + D + F

    C 7: C + E + G + Bb

    F major 7: F + A + C + E

    To move this to Gb major, just take every note up a half step, thus giving you the equivalent chords in Gb major:

    Gb major 7: Gb + Bb + Db + F

    Eb minor 7: Eb + Gb + Bb + Db

    Ab minor 7: Ab + Cb + Eb + Gb

    Db 7: Db + F + Ab + Cb

    Gb major 7: Gb + Bb + Db + F

    Is it hard work in the beginning? Sure it is.

    Does it get easier over time? Definitely.

    Because songs repeat the same chords and patterns over and over so as you start seeing the same chords and memorizing them in all 12 keys, you need not work out the transposition from scratch each time; rather, you’ll pull from your memory bank.

    So make this your next goal: 3 x 12

    3 songs in 12 keys.

    It seems simple but it’s quite a hard thing to do. If you can master this, you’ll get to pro status in no time.

    Until next time —

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    Hi, I'm Jermaine Griggs, founder of this site. We teach people how to express themselves through the language of music. Just as you talk and listen freely, music can be enjoyed and played in the same way... if you know the rules of the "language!" I started this site at 17 years old in August 2000 and more than a decade later, we've helped literally millions of musicians along the way. Enjoy!




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