Chords and Scales
Does the root note of the first chord you play determine the scale of the piece?
Maria's answer:
No. A piece can start with any chord. But a tonal piece (that is a piece in either major or minor) will usually end with a chord that has as a root the root of the scale the piece is said to be in the "key" of.
To determine the key of a piece, you have to do two things:
- First look at the key signature in the beginning of the staff,
- An then see in what key the piece ends with.
For each key signature there are two options; it can be either one major or one relative minor key.
For example, let's say there are three sharps in the key signature- this means the piece could be in either A major
or F# minor.
To find out which one, you need to look at the last note or the root of the last chord, this should be the "Tonic" in most music. If it is F#, the piece is in F# minor, and if it finishes with an A major chord, the piece is in A major.
You can read more about key signatures here:
Learn about Key Signatures.
I hope this helped!
Happy playing!