![]() ![]() and again just declare on the basis of the score that "In measure X, the piece is in key Y." If there are some conflicting factors, they will weigh various parameters and make a determination based on a global view of the score, as if they were solving a puzzle. Some of those people might look at the local context, including accidentals, cadences, etc. One might ask what local key a piece is in at a particular point in time. Other people are interested in something more nuanced. They will just declare that to be the key and be done with it. Some people are looking for a simple answer, often determined by the key signature and what local key/chord progression a piece ends on. The first question I'd ask in response is, "Why do you care? What are you trying to determine by saying piece X is in key Y?" What does it mean to be "in a key"? That's really at the heart of this question. The question reminds me of - 'Can you be a father and a son at the same time?' All of which get used in both D major and Bm. Triads in said D (Bm) key are D maj, G maj. Thing is, the harmonies for both - relatively speaking - are the same, basically. Much was made of that a couple of centuries ago with the Tierce de Picardie - although one wouldn't call that a key change! Moving to parallel keys is rarer, but will still happen, quite easily as the same root note is familiar to the listener. ![]() Moving to and from relative keys is commonplace - there's often a Bm section in those pieces which start in key D. ![]() Occasionally, we may decide somewhere else is a better place to be permanently, so we move house and that becomes the new home - thus a new key. We may have visited other places on the way, and stayed there temporarily (a holiday?) but generally speaking, we return to the static residence - home. All journeys start from there (bit like real life!) and only when returned there more or less permanently is the journey over. My students are given the impression that home is a key. What we can't say is that a piece with those two sharps is suddenly in key Em for three or four bars in the middle somewhere. That's when the word key gets messed about. There are many times when the key of a particular piece changes - modulates - to its parallel key or the key of its dominant, or even subdominant. Occasionally, that is taken further, and it could just be that it's in E Dorian, F♯ Phrygian or A Mixolydian, for example. We then acknowledge that it is in the key of D major and/or B minor. If a piece has two sharps in its key signature, they will most likely be F♯ and C♯. A 'key' is a generalisation of the notes used in any piece. ![]()
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