Is it possible to write a song without a key?

Question

This song is in F Major, "That song is in A Minor", "This song is in D Minor, but modulates to F Major in the middle", etc.Can we say "This song has no key"? Are there songs that have/follow no key? Is it possible to create song without adhering a key?

Answer 1

Evren's answer is excellent! To add on, Coltrane's "Countdown" and "Giant Steps" are good examples of music that doesn't require a key signature because the key changes so quickly and so many times throughout the form. However, there are plenty of types of music that don't adhere to keys at all, in that they are not tonal in a way that can be analyzed by the Western tradition. For example, Arnold Schoenberg famously rejected traditional tonality and created tonal systems of his own to adhere to when composing. Several forms of the blues, as we know it today, aren't really in any key at all since every chord is dominant, and so assigning a key would be missing the point. There are endless examples of music from around the world that divide an octave up into far more than 12 notes, making Western keys irrelevant in those contexts. I encourage you and everyone to dive deep and widen your musical horizons. Western music is only part of the story. Hope this helps!

Answer 2

Hi, yes there are songs that follows multiple keys even in a short sequence, that may not have the key signature at the beginning. Seeing no key signatures on these types of tunes, we can't make a quick decision and say this song is in the key of C, or A minor. Instead we will see the accidentals on specific parts. They still will have an ending chord which determines the final key the band was in. John Coltrane's famous "Countdown" and "Giant Steps" as an example.