Key Centers - Song Analysis

Today, I would like to talk about song analysis in the Jazz genre. I love doing these! I am going to take the tune, "All The Things You Are", a well known Jazz Standard, and pick it apart. I am focusing on finding the Key Centers and identifying individual chordal scales.

Before we get any deeper into this, I should preface this by saying that you should have a basic knowledge of modes (Both Major Modes and modes of the Melodic Minor) before reading this. If not, let me know and maybe I'll do a separate blog on modes (I may do that at some point anyway).

What is a "Key Center"?

A Key Center is a scale that more than one consecutive chord can belong to. It can be for as few as two chords, and as many as all the chords in the entire song. Jazz songs tend to have multiple key centers, whereas pop songs usually stick to the main key. Changing key centers happens when a portion of the song goes "Out of the main key". It's important to be able to identify these.

Below is the chart for "All The Things You Are"

I would recommend playing through it as is first, without thinking of key centers just yet if you are not already familiar with this song. If you would like an audio reference, I recommend the Dizzy Gillespie version recorded on the album "Groovin' High" - 1955. Available on iTunes and Spotify. This recorded version has an intro that isn't in this chart, don't worry about that part.

Once you are familiar with the sound of the melody and the chord changes, let's identify our Key Centers: This is where things get fun! Here is the chart again, this time marked up with Parenthesis identifying each key center as well as numbers identifying the scale degree (Or Nashville Number) Pertaining to that Key Center.

Bar 1-5 are in the key of Ab Major (Also the main key of the song)

Bar 6-8 are in the key of C Major

Bar 9-13 are in the key of Eb Major

Bar 14-20 are in the key of G Major

Bar 21-23 are in the key of E Major

Bar 24-25 are in the key of F Minor

Alternatively, Bar 25 can be part of the next key center: Ab

Bar 25-28 are in the key of Ab Major

Bar 29, we briefly dabble in the key of B Major

Bar 30-36 are in the key of Ab Major

Alternatively, the last two bars can be seen as being in the key of F Minor, leading back to the top.

How does it help me to know key centers?

If you further analyze the melody, you will see that all the notes in the melody belong to the corresponding key center's scale. This helps when you are playing the melody and want to come up with embellishments. Using notes from the key center gives you a set of notes to chose from that will work really well. Also, when taking an improvised solo over the form of the song, you can go on "Auto-Pilot" for the specific set of bars pertaining to each key center, and if you plan ahead for the next key center, you can craft your solo to hint towards the next key center before you get there. The possibilities are endless!

Below, I've also added additional markup information on the chart. I wrote in each individual scale pertaining to each chord as it relates to it's key center. This is a more advanced approach, as you can taylor your solo for each chord change using it's own scale. Personally, I don't like to think this way when I play. I find it too difficult, especially in faster songs. I prefer to think of things more broadly in the way things relate to their key centers, but there's no "right or wrong".

I hope this was insightful for you! As always, I am available for comment or questions anytime! Hit me up on Twitter, Facebook, or email. Thanks!