Hello again my musical expert friends! As many (most?) of you know, I am an amateur keyboard player who has only a basic knowledge of music but I play basically "by ear" (although I CAN recognize chords by their names). That is to say that I can hear the song I want to play in my head and somehow--don't ask me how, I don't know!! --my fingers seem to know what chords to play (usually). Anyway, my favorite keys (and the easiest for me to play and improvise) are F, Eb and Ab. Now, my question to the musicians in our midst: when I want to play a medley of songs and move from one song in say the key of F to the next one in the key of Eb or Ab (or vice versa), what sequence of chords can I play to move smoothly from one key to the next? I know that usually a dominant 7th chord leads back to a root, but if I end one song on its root (e.g. F or F major 7 or F major 6) and the next song begins in another key (e.g. Eb), can I just play the dominant 7th in the new key as a transition? I would prefer to be able to play a sequence of chords that move me from the one key to the next that includes more than just one chord. So, there is my query; I hope it makes sense and you musical experts can help me and not think this is a dumb question. Right now I generally just play my song, end it, either using an original ending or one of the great 7000 endings built in to the rhythm I am using, and then simply pause before beginning the next song in another key. (If I play two or more songs in the SAME key, however, I have no trouble transitioning from one to the next.) I hope I have made this clear and that someone can help me as I gain more and more experience and pleasure from this great instrument that makes even me sound good!!! Thanks everyone!

Ted

[This message has been edited by Ted Rose (edited 05-05-2003).]