How to Learn a New Key
To become a good musician, it is essential to learn how to play fluently in any key. Once you know which notes are in the scale of a key you are not familiar with, the next step is to transfer the knowledge to your instrument until you can instantly find any note of the scale on the fretboard.
Let’s take the key of D major as an example. The notes of the scale are written in the following diagram. Notice that there are two sharps in this key – F# and C# .
This example shows the fingering for all octaves of the notes of the D major scale in the open position. Learn it from memory and then play it with your eyes closed, naming each note as you play and visualising the notation in your mind. Once you can do this, name the scale degrees as you play instead of the note names. The degrees are written here between the notation and the tablature. Notice that this fingering starts with the 2nd degree of the scale (E). This is the lowest note on the guitar, so there is no low D available.
Once you are confident you can instantly find any note of the scale you are working on, try playing some sequences with the notes of the scale. Once again, work towards memorizing each new pattern and then play it with your eyes closed while naming first the notes and then the scale degrees. Here are some sequences to practice.
Practice this pattern descending as well as ascending.
It is also a good idea to practice scales using different rhythms. Here is one which uses a quarter note on the first beat and eighth notes for the rest of the bar. Continue the pattern all the way up to G on the first string and then back down again.
The Eighth Rest
This symbol is an eighth rest. It indicates half a beat of silence.
This example runs through the fingering for the D major scale using a rhythm containing eighth rests on each beat. Take it slowly at first and count along with your metronome as you play. If you work consistently on this type of exercise, you will develop a much stronger sense of timing.
This popular Caribbean song is in the key of D major. The more familiar you are with the major scale and sequences within a new key, the easier you will find it to learn songs in that key. Also, the more songs you learn in a key, the better your knowledge of the key will become.
