chords and keys...

how do i know what key i'm playing in. I'm still confused of the whole "key" thing. what chords make it a certain key? and how do i find out what chords go well together? thank you. :)

When, for example, you are playing in the key of C, the C note is the most important note in the melody. The melody always wants to return to that note.

For example in these songs the C note is:

"Twinkle(C note), twinkle, little star" ("twinkle" is the main note)

"I wish I was in(C note) Dixie, Hooray! Hooray!" ("in" is the main note)

"Oh, say(C note) can you see(C note) by the dawn's early light" ("say" and "see" are the main notes)

If a song has no flats or sharps, the song is in the key of C major, or one of its relative modes
If the song has one sharp, its in the key of G major, or one of its relative modes, and so on (check out the "keys" lessons on this site by Bodom)

To find out what chords go well together, check out the "chord progressions" -section on this site.

an easy way to find the key of a song (if you're a beginner) is to simply find the "home" of the song...similar concept of paerdevygh...either find the first chord in the progression or find the chord that the song focuses on...