If I need to find the key to something I hear then I do it by first trying to fix a straightforward major or minor scale to the main melody of the piece.......
Once I find a scale that 'fits' (I do that bit 'in my head') I then get the name of the key from the first note of the scale which means I need to match that first note to a sound on an instrument on which I know what the notes from various fingerings are called. In my case its usually a piano or guitar that provides the 'key name' as I'm less good at naming on the fly the notes that come out of my alto. Once the key name is known then I do a sort of check that chords that often go with the chord of the main key are (or could reasonably be) in the same tune somewhere. Leaving aside progressions (which I see as really just a way of getting from one 'important' chord to another!) most tunes, regardless of genre, don't have more than three or four chords in them.
Another approach, which I hardly ever use, is supposed to be to establish the name of the note the piece ends on and arrive at the key that way. Strikes me as a long time to wait but may be worth a try if all else fails!
Hope helps ... I'm sure there will be better answers from others here!
Thanks for your reply Mike
I only play Alto (at the moment) and therefore have no other instruments to refer back to, and chords and there structure are not yet in my automatic defaults (sax wise) yet.
I like the idea of the final note being, how to arrive at the key, as I can put the whole tune in Transcribe and play the last few bars and get a Scale to fit that. maybe I should start to analyse riffs and passages within the tune, which will also give me notes that work and will be part of the chord of that bar, although won't have reference to the actual key.
Am I being to naive to think that playing and improvising around only with the key of the tune will be enough to sound ok and build on?
Then I can add blues or pentatonic scales and hopefully be away laughing
Cheers to Spain
Had several great times in Espana, As a lad we used to go on Camping holidays, and at the World Cup (Soccer) in 82. Last time was busking in Barcelona 2000.

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I'll be back there someday for more!
Do any busking your self?
Cheers, Ola & Ciao
Jimu
