"Manageable" Keys

[piper_guitarist]

Question for a few of the more experienced ones in here...

I have a pretty low bass/baritone voice, and as such, struggle singing to certain keys. For those with this issue, which keys do you often transpose to?

Thanks in advance.

[mmmaak]

I'm not sure there's a simple answer to this, especially with use of a capo. But "baritone" says to me "James Taylor", so you might want to listen to his music and see what keys/capo positions he uses :)

[martind gibsona]

I don't understand the question. I have NO idea what my voice is -- bass, alto, tenor, etc. I just find a song I like and a key I can sing it in. Then I figure out whether/where to capo it or just play it open in that key. In my performing repertoire, I've got songs in G, Ab, A, Bb, B, C, C#, D, Eb, E and F. That pretty much covers the spectrum.

Don Smith
Raleigh, NC

[Guyute]

Bass/Baritone...E is always a good key. Just ask Neil Diamond ;)

[Bern]

http://www.mp3backingtrax.com/article13.htm

[Mike_A]

i dont think there is a baritone key, any key can be your key, it depends on the melody structure of the song. try to find the highest note of the song (or lowest note) and adjust it to your range and find the new key where it now sits.

that being said, i think for songs sung by tenors you can transpose down to maybe 3 or 4 semitones (frets) to be comfortable at baritone

[vicov]

the fountain of all knowledge!!!! (Wikipedia) has this to say on the subject..
"Baritone (or barytone; French: baryton; German: Bariton; Italian: baritono) is a type of classical male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek βαρυτονος, meaning 'deep (or heavy) sounding', music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C (i.e. F2-F4) in choral music, and to G above middle C (i.e. F2-G4) in operatic music, though it can be extended at either end. It is one octave below the mezzo-soprano voice range in women."
Hope that helps
Vic

[Billy Memphis]

I also have a baritone voice. I do not think it is so much a question as to which key you transpose to because it depends on the range of the song. You have to find what is the highest note in the song you will have to sing and also what is the lowest,less importantly. start there and transpose downward until you are comfortable. I find this is an excellent way to get to know the guitar also. If you have to learn a song in several keys it really helps your "chops'.

[Malcolm]

...I do not think it is so much a question as to which key you transpose to because it depends on the range of the song. You have to find what is the highest note in the song you will have to sing and also what is the lowest
Manageable Range is really what we are looking for.

I've found that female vocalists will usually ask you to play in A.
Male vocalists will normally ask for G.
Basses are comfortable in E.

Can female vocalists perform in something other than A? Of course. As mentioned it is the highs and lows of the song that determine what key a specific person will find most comfortable.

I like D, A is a little too high for me, but I can join in on the chorus, I just leave the high and low notes to others. I'm normally OK in G.

[MODELL]

If you make the songs your own, you can use any key. Leonard Cohen does songs in G, A, D and C and sings an octave lower. Some might not like his voice, but I think he is very unique with this approach......... He may just be the epitome of baritone........;)

[Gazzamundo]

Manageable Range is really what we are looking for.

I've found that female vocalists will usually ask you to play in A.
Male vocalists will normally ask for G.
Basses are comfortable in E.

Can female vocalists perform in something other than A? Of course. As mentioned it is the highs and lows of the song that determine what key a specific person will find most comfortable.

I like D, A is a little too high for me, but I can join in on the chorus, I just leave the high and low notes to others. I'm normally OK in G.

I used to think G was my key, until just this week when I found that most of the covers I was planning to do (Beatles type stuff) was easier in A. Obviously some kind of transgender thing going on...

I usually start by finding where the chorus sounds best and work from there. I find there are very few songs I attempt that I can do without transposing, and I'll quite often tranpose to a key where I can play my favourite chord shapes, and then capo it if need be. I'd be lost without my capo these days.

Also, I find it's best that when I work a song out, I have to stretch just a little for those top notes, so that when it comes to playing live, it'll give the number a bit of intensity/emotion/whatever. Especially if your voice breaks going for that note - the audience will think you're just overcome by the emotional intensity of it all! Are you sure this how Mariah Carey started out?

[Bob1131]

I used to think G was my key, until just this week when I found that most of the covers I was planning to do (Beatles type stuff) was easier in A. Obviously some kind of transgender thing going on...

I usually start by finding where the chorus sounds best and work from there. I find there are very few songs I attempt that I can do without transposing, and I'll quite often tranpose to a key where I can play my favourite chord shapes, and then capo it if need be. I'd be lost without my capo these days.

Also, I find it's best that when I work a song out, I have to stretch just a little for those top notes, so that when it comes to playing live, it'll give the number a bit of intensity/emotion/whatever. Especially if your voice breaks going for that note - the audience will think you're just overcome by the emotional intensity of it all! Are you sure this how Mariah Carey started out?

:D:D:D:D Exactly!!

[kats45]

I'm not sure there's a simple answer to this, especially with use of a capo. But "baritone" says to me "James Taylor", so you might want to listen to his music and see what keys/capo positions he uses :)

James Taylor's not a baritone. He's a tenor, perhaps a low tenor, but definitely not a baritone.

[mmmaak]

James Taylor's not a baritone. He's a tenor, perhaps a low tenor, but definitely not a baritone.

Thanks for clarifying. He always seems to sing everything within my own vocal range (which is very low and limited) so I had always assumed he was a baritone (as opposed to voices like Mick Hucknall's and Stevie Wonder's).