If you can change keys you can find chort charts online and then transpose them to the key of your instrument.
Before you start
Changing keys is the last lesson in the introductory theory course because it's a bit like you're final exam. You know that if you can do this then you've nailed everything else. It will also point out to you any areas that you may need to go back and brush up on.
The Lesson
So remember how a scale is just a bunch of notes and that some are close to each other and some further apart. Remember that the major scale has a specific pattern of whole and half steps and that when we start from C we get C D E F G A and B, all of the white keys on a piano.
If we start from a different note and use the same step pattern we'll eventually get notes other than these, notes with a sharp (#) or flat (b) sign, the black keys on the piano. For example the key of G major has an F# in it while F major has a Bb.
Each of the step pattern represents a major scale but when we travel these same distances from a different tonic note we occasionally land on a note other than one of our natural notes.
Here's a list of all the major keys and the notes they contain.
| Key | Notes |
| C | C D E F G A B C |
| G | G A B C D E F# G |
| D | D E F# G A B C# D |
| A | A B C# D E F# G# |
| E | E F# G# A B C# D# |
| B | B C# D# E F# G# A# |
| F# | F# G# A# B C# D# E# |
| Db | Db Eb F Gb Ab Bb C |
| Ab | Ab Bb C Db Eb F G |
| Eb | Eb F G Ab Bb C D |
| Bb | Bb C D Eb F G A |
| F | F G A Bb C D E |
To change from one key to another you first translate the original key into relative names and then find the chords in the new key. This will help...
| Relative name | C | G | D | A | E | F | Bb |
| I | C | G | D | A | E | F | Bb |
| ii | Dm | Am | Em | Bm | F#m | Gm | Cm |
| iii | Em | Bm | F#m | C#m | G#m | Am | Dm |
| IV | F | C | G | D | A | Bb | Eb |
| V | G | D | A | E | B | C | F |
| vi | Am | Em | Bm | F#m | C#m | Dm | Gm |
| vii | Bm7b5 | F#m7b5 | C#m7b5 | G#m7b5 | D#m7b5 | Em7b5 | Am7b5 |
So a Blues in G has G, C, and D in it. We know that these are the I, IV and V chords so a blues in Bb will Bb, Eb and F.
Take Home
Learn to convert any chord into its relative name and you can change keys at a glance.
The Video Lesson
In this lesson you'll learn how to change keys, a useful skill when you're tuned to one key all the time.
You can download the video here.
Learning the fretboard
- Find the G major scale and all of the diatonic chords in G in as many positions on the fretboard as you can.
- Then find the C major scale and the diatonic chords in C.
- Then go to this site for the chords to Dylan's versions of Sam Cooke's 'A Change is Gonna Come'.
- There are two versions of the song, one in C and one in G, don't scroll down to the one in G.
- See if you can figure out for yourself how to play it in the key of G only by looking at the version in C, then check the second version to see how you went.