How do I put my guitar in a different Key?

Question:1) My guitar is standard tuned. What is the key?

2) How do I change key?

3) What major chords (not major but chords I should know) are in each key?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: 1) My guitar is standard tuned. What is the key?

2) How do I change key?

3) What major chords (not major but chords I should know) are in each key?

K-dog, the guitar isn't really in any key. It's like the piano, you can play any chord and in any key on it. If you're just starting out you can learn the chords G, C, D, and then buy a capo and you can play in any key.

As for what chords in each key; there's something called the Nashville Number System which works like this:

A "C" scale is:
C D EF G A BC

The C is the 1 in the key of C, so it goes like this:

C(1) D(2) E(3) F(4) G(5) A(6) B(7) C(1)

Many tunes use the 1-4-5 progression, so in C that would be C-F-G.

So, since so many tunes use the 1-4-5 progression a good place to start is to learn the 1-4-5 in every key.

Here's G:

G(1) A(2) B(3) C(4) D(5) E(6) F#(7) G(1)

So a 1-4-5 in G would be G-C-D. The reason I suggested learning those chords first is that they are easier to learn.

By putting it into numbers we can see similar patterns across keys. For instance, whatever key your in, that is the 1. A is the 1 in A, etc. Often musicians will explain a tune by saying something like "it's a 1-6-2-5 in B." The numbering system is very widely used and makes things much easier.

So, as for how to change keys, if I play G-C-D I'm playing in G. If I play C-F-G I'm playing in C, if I play A-D-E (a 1-4-5 in A) I'm playing in A, etc. So you don't need to re-tune to play in different keys.

Some guitarists tune their guitars to a chord. This is called "open tuning" and is often used by blues guitarist, especially when using a slide. This is different than standard tuning, but it's also fun and worth a try.

Good luck!

I just drop my top string to the tone i like and tune the rest to that.I'm just a hack player though so i'm not sure if its right or not but it works for me ...have fun and rock on !

1) in standard tuning EADBGE there is no real key. It's kind've an E, but not really.

2) to play within a key you need to establish the first, the tonic of that key.

3) if you are playing a major key you will want to know the I, IV, V, and vi. (the one, four, five, and six-minor) Most every song out there is either based on these four chords or can be.

Let me explain that a little better. Let's say you want to play a song in the key of C major, ie, in the key of C (usually you assume major unless it specifies something different).

The first is the tonic of the key, the C. This chord establishes the tonality - everything relates back to C. The fourth is kind've a transition - in the key of C, it's an F. You can go back and fourth between the root and the fourth pretty easily, usually. The fifth adds tension - in C it's the G. The fifth wants to go back to the root pretty quickly. The sixth, the Am, can substitute for or act like the root.

So the order of the letters are C D E F G A B C D E etc

Ummm.... learning how to play the V7 is pretty important. In the key of C it's G7, for instance.

I'm not sure i'm answering your question properly, so I'm throwing a lot at you. You should know how to play major, minor, and dominant 7th chords. Learning sus chords (sus2 and sus4) will help expand your playing abilities and add little flourishes to your major and minor chords.

You can change your key with a capo, if you like. By learning the chords in the keys of C, D, and G, and using a capo you can transpose up to any key you want. For instance, play in the key of D and capo on the second fret - this raises the D one step up to the key of E. Now you can play chords that you know in a key that you don't.

If you have any questions feel free to contact or email me or whatever.

Saul