6.24Finding tonic by ear

A useful exercise:

Sing or play a melody.

Then stop.

Try several notes until you find the one that feels like:

everything could end here.

That's probably the tonic.

Now test it by playing the corresponding major or minor chord.

If the melody suddenly sounds grounded, you're likely close.

This is more reliable than simply assuming the first melody note is tonic.

Songs often start on 3, 5, or another scale degree.