How do you tell if music is in the key of, say, F major or d minor? They both have the same key signature..?

Answer 1

if the music is in F major it will use the chord F A C as its main tonic. also the dominant chord of F will be used C E G. if its in d minor, the chord D F A will be the main tonic and its domionant chord A C# E will be used extensively. what is the very first chord heard at the beginning? if its FAC or CEG then its likely in F. if its either dfa or AC#E then its very likely in d minor. look for the sharpened C in d minor. F major does not normaly use sharpened notes. how does the peice end? every peice of music almost without fail will end on the tonic chord. the lowest note played in the final chord will be an F in F major and a D in dminor. the overall tone of the music can help you too. minor keys have a darker, sadder , sometimes angry sound whereas major keys are bright, cheerful, beautiful, joyful. play the DFA chord on the piano, then play a FAC chord and you will hear the difference immediately

Answer 2

Usually a piece of music ends on the key of the key signature. So if the piece was in F major, it would usually end with an F.

Also, sometimes a piece in a minor key may not be as cheerful as a piece in a major key.

Answer 3

F major is usually written "F" and d minor is written "Dm". They have different sharps and flats, so I don't see how you might think they have the same signature. You can tell what key a piece of music is in by seeing which notes are flatted or sharped. For instance the key of C has no sharps or flats. The key of F has a flatted B (I think).

Answer 4

they dont have the same key signature