Welcome to another edition of “What Key Am I In?”
If you haven’t seen my past ones, click here to check them out.
Ok… here we go:
What major key am I in if I have these chords:
A# minor
D# minor
E# minor
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Answer:
C# major
Explanation:
Remember this chart from other posts?
The first degree of a scale is associated with the major chord.
The second degree of a scale is associated with the minor chord.
The third degree of a scale is associated with the minor chord.
The fourth degree of a scale is associated with the major chord.
The fifth degree of a scale is associated with the major chord.
The sixth degree of a scale is associated with the minor chord.
The seventh degree of a scale is associated with the diminished chord.
Recap:
The 1st, 4th, 5th degrees are major chords.
The 2nd, 3rd, and 6th degrees are minor chords.
The 7th degree is a diminished chord.
*Of course, when you play 4-toned chords, all these change to “seventh” chords (and the 5th tone becomes a “dominant seventh” chord and the 7th tone becomes a “half-diminished seventh” chord… but you didn’t need to know that for this lesson).
There’s only one key that has A#, D# and E# as minor chords… and that key is C#!
Let’s take a look at the C# major scale:
C# D# E# F# G# A# B# C#
It’s the only scale with 7 sharps! Literally every tone of the scale is a sharp.
Now, if we apply the rules from above, we’ll be able to figure out which tones are minor:
C# – major chord
D# – minor chord
E# – minor chord
F# – major chord
G# – major chord
A# – minor chord
B# – diminished chord
So if you got this one right, pat yourself on the back! :)
(I have a confession to make. I was really trying to stump you on this one with the use of C#. Normally this scale would be Db, which only has 5 flats and doesn’t use any of these crazy E# or B# enharmonic notes. But my point is… even when you’re in C#, the rules stay the same. You just gotta think in terms of sharps and some notes you’re used to calling “F” and “C” will be called “E#” and “B#,” respectively. Congrats if this was a piece of cake. It’s means you’re getting it!)
Until next time —
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