07/01/2016
Mastering All Keyz
I’m often asked the best way to learn
all 12 keys and while I’ve advocated
many methods in the past, the most
practical way is to adapt my “3 x 12”
rule. Simply put: Take 3 songs you know and
learn them in all 12 keys . It helps if they are songs that utilize
a variety of different chords. That’s
why picking 3 is important because
between them, you should get a good
mix of chords off every tone of the
scale. And since most songs follow the same
patterns, you’d be surprised how few
chords you really need to know to play
in all 12 keys. Taking 3 different
styled songs and learning them in all
12 keys usually gives you plenty. The easiest way is to simply start at
the original key of the song and move
every note up a half step. So if a song is in Eb major, you’ll
attack E major next by literally taking every note in every chord and
moving it up a half step. Transposing a song to a new key is no
more than moving every note up the
appropriate amount of notes. If the next key is a half step up, every
note of every chord simply moves a half
step up. However, if you’re trying to move to a
new key 4 half steps up, then you need
to move every note of every chord 4
half steps up. As long as you move the
same distance for every note in every
chord, the end result will be the same song in a new key. Exercise: Move these chords in F major to Gb
major. Hint: Gb major is a half step higher
than F major. That means every note
is moved up a half step. F major 7: F + A + C + E D minor 7: D + F + A + C G minor 7: G + Bb + D + F C 7: C + E + G + Bb F major 7: F + A + C + E To move this to Gb major, just take
every note up a half step, thus giving
you the equivalent chords in Gb major: Gb major 7: Gb + Bb + Db + F Eb minor 7: Eb + Gb + Bb + Db Ab minor 7: Ab + Cb + Eb + Gb Db 7: Db + F + Ab + Cb Gb major 7: Gb + Bb + Db + F Is it hard work in the beginning? Sure
it is. Does it get easier over time?
Definitely. Because songs repeat the same chords
and patterns over and over so as you
start seeing the same chords and
memorizing them in all 12 keys, you
need not work out the transposition from scratch each time; rather, you’ll
pull from your memory bank. So make this your next goal: 3 x 12 3 songs in 12 keys. It seems simple but it’s quite a hard
thing to do. If you can master this,
you’ll get to pro status in no time. Until next time —