Good question! (P.S. Ask me what you want to know!) (Patreon)

I got a great question from an awesome Patreon Matt today, and I thought the information I gave him would be good for everyone, so I am going to copy his question and my response. The more you know!

The question

Hey Tyler, do you have a very basic video on keys and chords. I'm not musical at all but can strum and finger the strings but I'd like to understand. The how. When someone says "it's in the key on D". What does that mean.   If you've made that video great, can you link it. If not, I hope you do in the future.  I hope it made sense. Thanks. Matt

My response

Yeah Matt, that makes a ton of sense but I am hearing to things. Identifying key, and chord construction.   Lets look at the key of C. The key of C has the following notes, C D E F G A B and than back to C. So chords in this key, basic triads (meaning three notes) are made just by skipping a note, for example I will make the notes in capitals part of the chord.   C d E f G a b, so C - E - G make a chord, that chord is a C major. Major chords are made by the first, fourth and fifth notes. If you start from D, you get D, F and A, which is a D minor, minor chords are made from the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th chords. So in the key of C you have C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am and B dim (the 7th chord is usually ignored as it is very dissonant.   Knowing the chords in the key, specifically the I, IV, V and iv chords, or chords made form the first, fourth, fifth and sixth note will help you identify the key. For example in key of D, D, G, A and Bm.   Eventually over time you will start to recognize these lumps of chords and it will help you identify the key, which is good for knowing which scale.   I know that probably helps... and creates more questions! haha, just feel free to ask.   Tyler