Tonal center vs Key is there a difference?

Hi all, been wrestling with the idea of tone centers and keys . Do they always align? which do I tie my solos to?

Example: Sweet Home Alabama

Chords: D,C,G G = tonic; C=subdominant 4th; G=Dominant 5th; Indicates Key of G

Use G scales..

Playing the song:

Starts on D Chord and seems to resolve there

so indicates D scales should be used

So, how do I think about this? Key of G with a differnt tonal center being D and use D scales? Am I incorrectly assuming a functional harmony progression for this song and it is really a modal progression?

i would be thankful if some one could get me straight on this ;-)

B

Originally Posted by: btoby61

Hi all, been wrestling with the idea of tone centers and keys . Do they always align? which do I tie my solos to?[/quote]

There is a difference between functional & modal harmony. But they both share the same conceptual common denominators of chromaticism & basic music theory. The differences are in the application.

Originally Posted by: btoby61

Example: Sweet Home Alabama

Great example to use! :) I've seen that debated & argued endlessly on guitar forums. Some people really get worked up over it!

Short answer: It's in G major. But you could look at like it's a modal piece in D mixolydian (which is the 5th mode of G major).

[quote=btoby61]Starts on D Chord and seems to resolve there ...

So, how do I think about this? Key of G with a differnt tonal center being D and use D scales? Am I incorrectly assuming a functional harmony progression for this song and it is really a modal progression?

I cover this in detail in this tutorial on improv.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=876

In this case it's simply a progression that starts on dominant & ends on tonic. More typical of classical or jazz, but not uncommon in rock.

D (V) - C (IV) - G (I)

The other big clue to listen for is the melody. What notes are being sung & played by the guitar leads. It's clearly G major with some bluesy minor 3 (B-flat) passing tones.

They do include an F major chord in there for a quick modulation, but it's also just to add more bluesy, swampy flavor to the G major sound.

You could think of it as being in D mixolydian. But that doesn't really help in this case because as soon as you figure out the melody notes & lead solos it's obvious that they are using G major pentatonic for 98% of the notes. The other 2% being that B-flat & F occasionally to make the lines more bluesy.

One final clue is that every live recording I've heard of Skynyrd playing it, they end on G. :)

Hope this helps!

Thanks Chris! I am heading over to the link to take a look. Thanks for taking time to reply, it does clear up some items. In the song example you would play the key, any quick simple ways to tell if a song is "modal or tonal" (does that question even make sense?)

You're welcome!

Originally Posted by: btoby61

In the song example you would play the key, any quick simple ways to tell if a song is "modal or tonal" (does that question even make sense?)

Most tonal music has modulations (notes & chords not in the key), accidentals. Some doesn't necessarily follow functional harmony. But if the chords & melody outline a key signature, then you have a tonal piece.

Modal music does not have a clearly defined key signature. For example a piece that only has 2 distantly related chords & a melody that uses a diatonic mode with no functional harmonic motion or resolution.

The classic modern example of modal music is Miles Davis's Kind of Blue album. Here's one of the tunes 'So What'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqNTltOGh5c

It's essentially just a basic framework to solo over. The song chart is a D minor 7 chord over a dorian bass line for 16 bars with the indication to use dorian to solo over it. Then it changes to an E-flat minor 7 chord for 8 bars with the indication to also use dorian to solo over it. Repeat.

Here's an example of Celtic Renaissance music that is essentially modal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwR2iTPvRbw

Notice that there are chord changes, but it's essentially just a dorian melody over a D minor & G major chord. There's also a C major implied. And you could say that all this info implies the key of C major. But that's not really accurate because the piece doesn't sound like a melody or chord progression in C major.

Most modern music (pop, rock, country, blues) is a mixture of tonal concepts with some modal elements mixed in. Which makes it sometimes difficult to sort it all out. :)

Finally, here's my tutorial on the basics of functional harmony.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=495

And here's my tutorial on practicing the modes of the major scale.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=770

Hope this helps!