what key do i sing in?

[vishalchoure]

Originally Posted by crikey

Welcome, vishalchoure. The real question is: Do you dance? When you can answer that, all else will be revealed.

i do not "dance" dance... i dance like troye sivan, melanie martinez and kimbra, if that makes...

[vishalchoure]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Well, it's going to depend on what chord form you start and end on. If you're capoed at the third fret and you're playing chords in A formation, starting and ending on an A major chord, that puts you in the key of C natural. However, if you're playing in C formation while capoed at the third fret, using C, F, G and A minor chord forms, that puts you in Eb natural.

Move the capo up a fret and it puts you a half step higher. C formation chords at the 4th fret put you in E natural, and A formation chords at that capo position put you in C# natural.

If you could tell us some of the songs you sing there and chord progressions you use on them, that would make it easier to be exact about this.


Wade Hampton Miller

I put the capo on 4th fret and use chord progession
Am-C-F-G(for the song ET by katy perry),

Am-F-C-G(for the song Dollhouse by melanie martinez, capo of 3rd fret),

Am-C-F-E( for the song dear procupines by melanie martinez),

Am-Dm-Am-Dm-A-Dm( for the song body electric by lana del rey),

Am-F-Am-F-Am-G-Dm-Am( for the song dark paradise by lana del rey)

And Am-Em-G-Em-G (for the song Rolling in the deep by Adele, capo on the third fret).

I must also mention i am very new to music and know very very little about it, i am not a singer, i just started playing and singing just very recently, hence, i am curious to know what range do i sing in and whats my type( if that makes sense) and why do i always feel comfortable using a capo and can only sing certain songs.

[vishalchoure]

Originally Posted by dcmey

Do you have a capo chart? That could help you identify what key you are singing in. The first chord in your songs can help identify the key.

I usually start with the chord Am with the capo on the 4th fret

[Wade Hampton]

Vishalchoure, when you play in A minor formation with the guitar capoed at the fourth fret this puts you into the key of C# minor natural. This is what's called the relative minor of the key of E, which basically means that it uses the same notes as the key of E at the same intervals apart from each other, the scale just starts on a C# and ends an octave higher on another C# note instead of beginning and ending on E notes.

That doesn't particularly matter. What it means in practical terms is that when you start gravitating to songs in major keys you might want to look at beginning to play songs in E major, because you already know it's a good key for your voice. Based on that, my guess is that your personal voice register probably somewhere in the baritone range. Which about 65-70% of men share with you.

Unless you're female, and I don't know offhand where that puts your voice, since I'm male. (And a tenor, as it happens.) But if you're female that would put you an octave above the baritone range, unless you're a woman with an EXCEPTIONALLY deep voice.....

Getting back to your songs, when you drop the capo to the third fret and play in that same A minor formation, that puts you in C minor, which is the relative minor of the key of Eb.

Again, not that that matters at this point.

When you do start playing songs in major keys, start fooling around with C formation chords at those same capo settings, until you start to expand your vocal range and your knowledge of different chord forms.

And believe me, you can expand both, not just your knowledge of chords. I was a boy soprano in school and church choirs, and actually pretty good, but when like most pubescent boys my voice started cracking at age 13 or so, I was completely humiliated by that. So I stopped singing for years....

When I first took up stringed instruments at age twenty it took some time to develop my adult singing range, and learn how to sing again. But my range did expand the more I sang, and I got better at it. So you can get better at it, too. All it takes is determination and practice.

As for playing songs in minor keys, I understand the allure, particularly of playing in A minor formation: it's really a rich-sounding voicing for guitar.

After I had gotten halfway good on mountain dulcimer (which was my first instrument,) I happened to get invited to come over and play some tunes with a couple of students from the Kansas City Art Institute that I didn't really know all that well, a friends of friends kind of thing. There was me, this other guy on guitar and a young woman about my age who knew precisely two chords on guitar: A minor and E7.

Believe it or not, that was one of the most enjoyable jam sessions I'd been in at that point of my musical development. We jammed for a couple of hours on those two chords: the guy was a pretty fair lead guitarist, and I was all OVER my dulcimer fretboard.

Yeah, it was pretty raga-like, and I'm sure if any more advanced players had been there they would have gone comatose with boredom fairly quickly. But the room acoustics were good, all the instruments sounded GREAT, and it was just a blast.

So enjoy yourself with the chords that you know, and when you start gravitating to other songs and other voicings you'll be getting better and more accomplished at it all the time.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

[vishalchoure]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

Vishalchoure, when you play in A minor formation with the guitar capoed at the fourth fret this puts you into the key of C# minor natural. This is what's called the relative minor of the key of E, which basically means that it uses the same notes as the key of E at the same intervals apart from each other, the scale just starts on a C# and ends an octave higher on another C# note instead of beginning and ending on E notes.

That doesn't particularly matter. What it means in practical terms is that when you start gravitating to songs in major keys you might want to look at beginning to play songs in E major, because you already know it's a good key for your voice. Based on that, my guess is that your personal voice register probably somewhere in the baritone range. Which about 65-70% of men share with you.

Unless you're female, and I don't know offhand where that puts your voice, since I'm male. (And a tenor, as it happens.) But if you're female that would put you an octave above the baritone range, unless you're a woman with an EXCEPTIONALLY deep voice.....

Getting back to your songs, when you drop the capo to the third fret and play in that same A minor formation, that puts you in C minor, which is the relative minor of the key of Eb.

Again, not that that matters at this point.

When you do start playing songs in major keys, start fooling around with C formation chords at those same capo settings, until you start to expand your vocal range and your knowledge of different chord forms.

And believe me, you can expand both, not just your knowledge of chords. I was a boy soprano in school and church choirs, and actually pretty good, but when like most pubescent boys my voice started cracking at age 13 or so, I was completely humiliated by that. So I stopped singing for years....

When I first took up stringed instruments at age twenty it took some time to develop my adult singing range, and learn how to sing again. But my range did expand the more I sang, and I got better at it. So you can get better at it, too. All it takes is determination and practice.

As for playing songs in minor keys, I understand the allure, particularly of playing in A minor formation: it's really a rich-sounding voicing for guitar.

After I had gotten halfway good on mountain dulcimer (which was my first instrument,) I happened to get invited to come over and play some tunes with a couple of students from the Kansas City Art Institute that I didn't really know all that well, a friends of friends kind of thing. There was me, this other guy on guitar and a young woman about my age who knew precisely two chords on guitar: A minor and E7.

Believe it or not, that was one of the most enjoyable jam sessions I'd been in at that point of my musical development. We jammed for a couple of hours on those two chords: the guy was a pretty fair lead guitarist, and I was all OVER my dulcimer fretboard.

Yeah, it was pretty raga-like, and I'm sure if any more advanced players had been there they would have gone comatose with boredom fairly quickly. But the room acoustics were good, all the instruments sounded GREAT, and it was just a blast.

So enjoy yourself with the chords that you know, and when you start gravitating to other songs and other voicings you'll be getting better and more accomplished at it all the time.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

Ohh Wade Hapmpton, Thank you so much, this does help me a lot. And i am a 22 year old guy. I read on the internet that using capo is for girly voices with high pitch so i am a little concerned as i use capo and am only comfortable using it around the 4th fret.
I have no musical background but i am very drawn to music and it makes me really happy, but unfortunately i cannot sing. so i started practicing singing when i was alone at home and after quite a while i started getting comfortable with the way i sound when i sing or started liking my singing voice( if that makes sense).
Also, thank you for sharing your personal experiences.
I am aiming to able able to sing like an average person or just sing along to my favorite music or to be able to carry a tune.

[JohnCambo]

I really wouldn't get to caught up on what key, does it really matter? You have been able to use the capo and sing, enjoy!

[MrMartyr]

Originally Posted by JohnCambo

I really wouldn't get to caught up on what key, does it really matter? You have been able to use the capo and sing, enjoy!

I agree. I often use a capo at the 3rd or 4th fret. I feel really comfortable singing in that range. I made the Ryan Adams joke earlier because he capos at the 3rd and 4th fret for many of his songs. Good stuff!

[pjroberts]

Originally Posted by crikey

Welcome, vishalchoure. The real question is: Do you dance? When you can answer that, all else will be revealed.

Crikey is the only one who is bringing continuity to this thread. But, Crikey, what key do you dance in?

[Wade Hampton]

Capoing at the third fret is kind of a sweet spot for the guitar. Eb is a good key for some songs for me, which (as I mentioned) is what you get when you play in C formation at that capo position. Dropping the low E string a step to get to the Dropped D tuning is good for my voice for some songs when capoed there, too.

When I was playing in bars for my living, whenever I had any work done on the frets or setup on my guitar, what I would do to test to make certain that the action hadn't been set too low would be to capo at the third fret and play. A lot of adjustments that aren't quite right can be missed pretty easily, but become a lot more noticeable when you capo at the third fret. You'll get buzzes there that might not show up otherwise.

More than once I'd capo three, play the guitar and find that it wasn't quite right yet. I'd do this in front of the repairman, and would hand the guitar back to get it dialed in more precisely.

So that's a little technique worth knowing for your bag of tricks....just capo 3 and whang away until you got things working the way the way they should!


whm

[Lacks Focus]

Don't think twice about using a capo - they're entirely gender neutral. One of my favorite songs to sing is the old traditional tune "Curly Headed Baby," and I have to sing it in D or else parts of the melody are too low for me to project well. It happens that the guitar accompaniment is easier for me to play in C, so I capo to the second fret to do that song.

The only problem is there's no key in which I can both sing the melody and do the yodeling part, too, so the yodeling doesn't happen at all. Probably better that way for those around me.

[jaytee32]

capo for girls? yeah right. most texas singer-songwriters are all over capos. go have a listen to Sunset Boulevard by Charlie Robison. If memory serves, he's capo'd up to 4th fret / G form (which means key of B) the capo is your buddy.

it'll help you down the road if you learn what the "real key" is of the songs you're playing ... doesn't matter at all until you start to play with other people, the better those other people are, the more you need to know the "real keys".

just as an example, two friends and I were working up a new song for a gig, and we wound up trying it in four different keys before we hit the right one to match the singer's voice.

check out a beginners course on youtube about the CAGED system which might help you a lot. google for "secret guitar teacher caged"!

[GibbyPrague]

Originally Posted by MrMartyr

Its called the key of Ryan Adams. lol

Isnt that the truth.

[Tico]

Originally Posted by JohnCambo

I really wouldn't get to caught up on what key, does it really matter? You have been able to use the capo and sing, enjoy!

That's a very good point.

But, when using a capo (especially on higher frets) while the key/chords are the same a guitar's tone will be different.
Shorter strings just sound different than longer strings.
With a capo the lowest notes may not be heard; instead they'll be heard on octave higher.
The same, but not.

Try it.
Play a song in E with no capo.
Now play it with the capo on the 4th fret and play 'in the C pattern'.
Then put capo on 7th fret and play 'in the A pattern'.

Same chords, but totally different tone ... even though all three times the sound itself is in the key of E.
The higher the capo is the less bass power and projection there is.
Some songs may benefit from this higher timbre.
Other songs will suffer from lack of bass and power.

FWIW here's one that sounds great at a high capo setting, 7th fret.
Stevie Winwood plays, "John Barleycorn Must Die".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8878chOvfI

[Arthur Blake]

Originally Posted by JohnCambo

I really wouldn't get to caught up on what key, does it really matter? You have been able to use the capo and sing, enjoy!

Seems to depend on the song rather than a key.

I sing with open strings and no capo, and with capo at the second, fourth, fifth and seventh frets depending upon which song. Interestingly, each song is always with the capo at that same location.

[Orfeas]

You can always transpose any song to your abilities.