How to determine the key of a song

How to Determine the Key of a Song

One of the more challenging obstacles as a beginner guitarist, or if you’re just new to guitar theory, is figuring out how to determine the key of a song. Some songs stick to standard chords within a key, which makes this task much easier. Other songs, however, are not as straight forward.

Angus Young of AC/DC playing the guitar Weatherman90 at English Wikipedia / CC BY-SA

Song Intros to Greatly Improve Guitar Picking Technique

While I do enjoy exercises, the best way to improve on guitar (and make it more enjoyable) is by learning songs. All of the techniques you can practice in isolation can also be practiced within the context of a song. With that in mind, below are 15 song intros you can learn to greatly to improve guitar picking technique.

Finger independence exercises

10 Finger Independence Exercises for Guitar

Feeling like your fingers are stuck or just won’t move independently of each other is a common issue for guitar players. We all want to our fingers to glide fluidly across the fretboard. Achieving this takes time and effort. However, there are some finger independence exercises that can help this process along.

5 Slash licks to connect scale patterns Image by: Andreas Lawen, Fotandi

5 Slash Licks to Connect Scale Patterns

Slash is one of my favorite guitar players and the person who inspired me to pick up the guitar when I was 14 years old. His bluesy hard rock licks accentuated with epic bends have created a rock legend with a style all of his own.

Intervals on the guitar
Building chords from the major scale

Major Scale Chords: What they are and how to build them

Building chords from the major scale sets the foundation for writing and understanding chord progressions, transposing to other keys, and developing your ear as a guitarist. In this lesson you’ll learn how chords are constructed from the major scale by stacking 3rds, what determines the quality of these chords, and how these chords map to the fretboard.