The Steel Guitar Forum

Which grip do I use to find key song is being played in on pedal steel?

From Jeff Newman via Tony Prior.

Very quietly (if you are on the bandstand) slide up on string 8 until you match the key of the song, i.e. if string 8 at the 8th fret sounds good, there is a really good chance the song is in C.

I have used this extensively since I first learned it. It works like a charm. From there have at it.

Avoid harmonized notes when trying to figure out the song key and pay attention to the bass as it should be very close to the tonal center of the song.

m.

I tell Before They start a Song You Better Tell Me the Key Or I Will Go Fishing With The Pedal To The Metal, After A Couple Catches,I Dont Have To Ask anymore, Randy Gilliam.

In the days of olde, with nothing more to listen to than your olde records on the phono-graph.....

it was always necessary to identify the TUNING in which the song of your choice was being played.

Since I most always played in C6th, I used the 2nd string, OR "C" string. Picking it OPEN, one could readily tell if you had to move your bar DOWN the neck; OR, UP the neck in order to MATCH the PITCH of the record. BY moving YOUR BAR until the pitch matched the dominant chord in the song, you could easily transpose that note to the chord and thereafter the KEY was easily dtermined.

EAR TRAINING was essential before the miracle of electronic tuners and TAB.

The "8th string on E9" trick is a good one, although you may get thrown off by finding a note that fits or sounds right with other chords than the root of the key... for example, the 5 or G note will sound good against the root in C. You also may be looking for notes against a chord that's not the root note or key chord in the progression. It takes practice, work on it at home with various CDs or songs on the TV. Ear training involves a whole set of hearing and awareness issues that you will build up over time, with patience and concentration. Happy hunting!

I can usually make a close guess but, to be sure, I'll hit either open 4th or 5th string - quietly, of course; then I can hear what note of the scale I've hit relative to the key in which the song is being played. Even a dissonant note (b2, b5, etc) gives you the info and, if you're lucky, you may even hit the tonic!

The more you've trained your ear, the easier this becomes.

post the name of the song on the forum and then ask for the tab....works everytime.

I use the fourth string and can find the key pretty quickly. I guess this comes from years of playing in small churches where I never knew what key the song was in, or even what the song was until they started singing.

Sure is different with the Praise band I play with now. We know the songs several days ahead of time, and rehearse every Thursday night for the next Sunday.

Find what you think is the root note on the 8th string, then play a major (or minor) scale with that root note. You'll hear right away if anything clashes.

Bryan Daste wrote:Find what you think is the root note on the 8th string, then play a major (or minor) scale with that root note. You'll hear right away if anything clashes.

thats it right there....I do that seeing what the next chord to the right is, a/f one fret over or ab down 2 frets up.


BTW Brian I will be playing the Deer lodge tonight at 10 with Chuckanut drive.

I use the same method as Matthew...I start out on the 8th string open and move my way up...

Brandon

I used my ear.

Hey Steve,
Missed your post until this morning. How was the show?

Whichever method you use, try and figure out the key before the song ends, or you'll be into the next one and never catch up....

Bryan Daste wrote:Hey Steve,
Missed your post until this morning. How was the show?

It was a lot of fun, very cool little spot he has, then did eugene sat night w Star Anna. the whole weekend was a little fuzzy to be honest...I hurt.


Another key finder I use is watching for my singer's capo positions on her guitar. open is usually g or c, 2nd fret is usually A or D etc.