From: pkang@acsu.buffalo.edu (Pablo Kang)
Newsgroups: alt.guitar.tab
Subject: Re: Keys
Date: 15 Dec 92 22:54:10 GMT
Organization: UB

In article <1992Dec15.194742.9215@eplrx7.es.duPont.com> walker@eplrx7.es.duPont.com (Scott Walker) writes:
>Hello everyone,
>    When someone posts a song, sometimes the chords are very difficult for
>a beginner to play.  For example, the chords for "Rocking Around the 
>Christmas Tree" is played in the key of Ab, using the chords Ab, Fm, Db, and
>Eb.  Is there an easy method of transposing a song in one key down to 
>another key?  Like what would be the equivalent chords to the above song
>say in the key of G?  Can you actually do this?  Maybe someone you could
>post the chord equivalents for the major keys of A,C,D,G etc?
>   I would really appreciate it and thank you,
>      scott

  Yes, you would be able to change the key, however you wouldn't
  be able to play along with the song...but that's alright.

  The song "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" is probably tuned-down
  half-step, as the following key chart can show you.

    1    2    3    4    5    6    7
    A    Bm   C#m  D    E    F#m  G#dim
    Ab   Bbm  Cm   Db   Eb   Fm   Gdim

  So in other words, your chords would be:

    A instead of Ab
    F#m instead of Fm
    D instead of Db
    E instead of Eb

  (NOTE: The song is written with the 1,6,4,5 chords. That's how
         you find out how to correlate which chords to play in a
         different key. [hope I didn't lose you here])

  It was probably played in A. If you want it in the key of G:

    1    2    3    4    5    6    7
    G    Am   Bm   C    D    Em   F#dim

  Your chords here would be:

    G instead of Ab
    Em instead of Fm
    C instead of Db
    D instead of Eb

--

  When you want to play in a certain key, you have to know what tools
  you can use. There are seven different chords you can play in a
  key. For simplicity I'll show you the example in the key of C.

    1    2    3    4    5    6    7
    C    Dm   Em   F    G    Am   Gdim

  Being in the key of C means that C itself will be the root.

    1, 4, and 5 will always be major
    2, 3, and 6 will always be minor (6 will being the relative minor)
    7 will always be the diminished chord

  Another thing you have to know is how sharps are added.
  I know part of the sequence by heart, the rest you can find out
  through friends or other people.

  For the key of C, there are no sharps.
  For the key of G, there is one sharp(F).
  For the key of D, there are two sharps(F,C).
  For the key of A, there are three sharps(F,C,G).

  So in other words: F,C,G,A,...would be the first four sharps that
  would be added.

  How would we use all of this info?
  Let's say we want to write a song in the key of A.

  First we write the seven numbers and the corresponding letters.

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

  Then we write which ones are majors, minors, and diminished.

    1    2    3    4    5    6    7
    A    Bm   Cm   D    E    Fm   Gdim

  We also know that the key of A has three sharps: F, C, G.
  Hence we apply this to the key chart.

    1    2    3    4    5    6    7
    A    Bm   C#m  D    E    F#m  G#dim

  An voila, there we have it. All the chords you can use in the key
  of A. Same techniques apply for every other key.

  Hope this helps. Happy key change!

pablo