Okuzeka
Music vocabulary · Music Theory and Harmony

Key

Meaning in music, with examples

/kiː/nounCore term

In music, key means: The group of notes and chords that a piece is mainly built on, centred on one home note. A song in the key of G major keeps returning to G as its point of rest.

In Turkish: ton, tonalite

How it is used

Musicians ask 'What key is it in?' before playing together. A song is in a key; singers ask to change the key or to take it down a tone. Keys are named like chords: 'E flat major', 'F sharp minor'.

Example sentences

  1. The original is in E, but we play it in the key of D for our singer.

  2. Before we start, what key is this song in?

Common collocations

  • in the key of
  • change key
  • key change
  • major key
  • minor key
  • key signatureThe group of sharps or flats written at the start of every staff, just after the clef, that shows the key of the piece and which notes are always raised or lowered.
  • scaleA set of notes played in order of pitch, going up or down, that follows a fixed pattern of steps. Scales are the building blocks of melodies and chords.
  • transposeTo move a whole piece or passage up or down by the same interval into a different key, keeping all the notes in the same relationship.
  • majorDescribing a scale, key, chord or interval built with a major third. Music in a major key is often described as bright or happy.
  • minorDescribing a scale, key, chord or interval built with a minor third. Music in a minor key is often described as dark, serious or sad.

More terms: Music Theory and Harmony

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