1/2 step down tuning

[Allman_Fan]

Originally Posted by mchalebk

Have you ever changed what key you capo in, maybe move it a fret higher or a fret lower?

No. If it's a cover song (where I am trying to "duplicate" the original), I do it in the key it came in. Or I'll try changing it to another key without the capo. If it doesn't "sound right" on the guitar, I'll ditch it.

The ability to easily play with others is very important to me.

[vintageparlors]

Originally Posted by buckhorn70

would it be..... E Flat, G Sharp, D Flat, G flat, B Flat, E flat

I'm an E-flat guy myself. It favors my rather exotic vocal range.

(exotic = limited)

[Andromeda]

Originally Posted by vintageparlors

I'm an E-flat guy myself. It favors my rather exotic vocal range.

(exotic = limited)

Me too. I have found as I have gotten older I just can't hit the higher notes.

[mchalebk]

Originally Posted by Allman_Fan

No. If it's a cover song (where I am trying to "duplicate" the original), I do it in the key it came in. Or I'll try changing it to another key without the capo. If it doesn't "sound right" on the guitar, I'll ditch it.

The ability to easily play with others is very important to me.

Now you're just dodging the question. I asked: "Have you ever changed what key you capo in, maybe move it a fret higher or a fret lower?". I didn't mention "cover song". I also didn't realize we were talking about original keys and playing with others. I thought we were talking about whether a half-step can make a significant difference.

[pgilmor]

there are a lot of good thoughts on this thread, but as someone who isn't real well educated as a musician, sometimes it seems to me that 1/2 step makes a much bigger difference than it seems like it should. tune to E flat, and all of a sudden "every rose has it's thorn" or "more than words" are really easy to sing, as opposed to impossible. maybe it shouldn't make that much difference, but it does for me.

[Allman_Fan]

Originally Posted by mchalebk

Now you're just dodging the question. I asked: "Have you ever changed what key you capo in, maybe move it a fret higher or a fret lower?". I didn't mention "cover song".

None of my songs use a capo.

Sometimes, I use a capo on a cover song if the original artist did. In those cases, I have tried it up or down one or so half steps. It didn't really matter to the vocal range situation because none of these songs is anywhere near the limit of my range.

What has mattered is if I was going to include a harmonica part to substiturte for lead guitar (or other) solo. In that case, I need to be a "usual" key as I don't have a Gb harmonica (whereas, I do have a G).

Other times, I have used a capo to match other peoples voices. In those cases, I do whatever thay want me to. As a default position, I consider the lead vocalist to be the leader of that song.

Sometimes, I have used a capo to offer a different guitar voicing, especially when two guitars are playing. I think "Here Comes the Sun" is an example of this.

Originally Posted by mchalebk

I also didn't realize we were talking about original keys and playing with others. I thought we were talking about whether a half-step can make a significant difference.

Well, I think when you are changing the tuning of a guitar, the question of how it affects the versatility will be an issue, but you are right: the subject here is how these tunings affect the vocal issue.

I guess what I was saying is that half step changes don't really come into play in what I am doing because (when singing lead, anyway) I don't get that close to the edge of my range.

I hope I didn't ruffle any feathers, obviously, you do what you do and I do what I do. It's a wide open world of possibilities!

[mchalebk]

Originally Posted by Allman_Fan

I guess what I was saying is that half step changes don't really come into play in what I am doing because (when singing lead, anyway) I don't get that close to the edge of my range.

This I can completely agree with.

Originally Posted by Allman_Fan

I hope I didn't ruffle any feathers, obviously, you do what you do and I do what I do. It's a wide open world of possibilities!

No worries. I also started to be concerned that I was coming on too strong. No hard feelings; we're all trying to learn/educate.

One last comment on half-steps: in the world of church music, a half-step can make a big difference. I do a lot of arranging (and some composing) for my church choir. While I don’t worry about the choir so much, how high a song goes is really critical for the congregation, since most of them are not singers. If possible, I try to keep things in the C to C range. However, that’s not always possible.

I recently arranged a song that had about a really wide range. If I put it in D, the lowest notes were A, the highest D (octave and a half above). Well, the D is getting a little high for the average person, but the A is really low. Ended up putting it in Eb, so the low note was a Bb, the highest an Eb. It’s really hard to say which would be better (as a tenor, I prefer not to have to sing that low A, but was that the right call?), but I will guarantee that anything lower than D would have been too low and anything higher than Eb would have been too high; those were the only two keys that would have worked.

[Minotaur]

Originally Posted by M19

That is correct. Then a capo at one and your back to "normal."

That's often done with 12-string guitars because of the belief that the extra course of strings puts more tension on the neck. Newer 12-strings don't have that problem though.