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This one's more about rearrangement than composition, but...
How would one go about figuring out the key a song is based in, especially when said song doesn't stick too hard to it's key signature? Unlike the last one, please don't use too much jargon, as where I think technique for this might be based is somewhere I don't know well in musical theory.
[quote=DjJizzer5]first note, last note, the first chord there is in the song or melodical progression[/quote]
that doesn't really help, since I still don't know what to do with that or find the lattermost of such, or really, what that is.
It in true honesty depends. If a song doesn't really stick to a key signature then the term atonal is used. This pretty much means that the song does not follow a key. For songs like these they more then likely follow a progression of chords. In a song that is atonal a.k.a lacking a key every few measures to every few beats could have a new key. If you run into a song that seems to lack any key or in this case any tonal center then more then likely it does not have a key and there is no point trying to put a key signature to it.
Usually one can tell by the chords in the beginning and end of a song (you know what chords are, eh? =P). Usually, using the last note of the melody will give you the key, but sometimes there are songs that change key or end so as to make a chord if played with the other notes. But yeah, in atonal music, you can't really say that there is a key signature at all. [color=red](Also, as a side note, melodies chant music usually ends 4 tones above the key. Weird, I know ;-)
EDIT: Read rainwarrior's post below.
The melodic progression is a term for the series of notes the melody takes, if you wanted to know.
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Actually most band music I played in high school was for the most part atonal. Generally the song would be set to the key of C and accidentals could be found everywhere. My band director even made comment to the fact that modern band music is generally lacking any real key. Besides SoltlW question was what should be done if the song doesn't really stick to a key. In this case if a song doesn't really stick to a key or no key signature fits any part of the song wouldn't it be safe to assume that it is atonal or at least has atonal properties?
[quote=poodlecock]Also, as a side note, melodies chant music usually ends 4 tones above the key. Weird, I know ;-)[/quote]
This is not really correct. You've taken key to mean one particular diatonic scale, which it is not. Plainchant predates major/minor tonality by 800 years or so, but it has a similar harmonic framework known as a "mode", which is another type of key.
Another question, possibly a more complicated one, if a song doesn't have background instrumentation and the instrumentation in the front isn't strict to stick to the notes of the current chord, how might one go about figuring the chord progression?
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