Can you recognize the KEY to a song?

[Alan Brookes]

I can always figure out the key just by sliding the bar up the fretboard until I get the right chord. (It helps if the tune is in a major key and doesn't have complicated chord progressions.) The problem sometimes is figuring out the key before the song ends. If I haven't figured out the key and the time comes for an instrumental break I can usually muff it by playing single notes by ear.

[Roger Edgington]

I can usually find the key in a few notes. Sometimes you can get a hint from a bass note or guitar strum or from the last song played. Most bands will tell you. It also helps if the band tends to play in normal recorded keys. If the band does things like "Fulsom Prison Blues" in Bb it's gonna be a long night. Then you have the singer that gets up for a song or two and don't have a clue what key they sing in. Ya just learn to deal with it. It's always fun to be on a stage show and you hear "Here's one I wrote". That's when I hope the bass player knows it.