Playing in a Different Key

[Bikewer]

My wife is a vocalist, and she frequently sings with various local artists. The well-trained ones simply ask, “what key would you like?”

They don’t have any problem transposing......

I must say I never gave a rodent’s patootie what the “original” was written in... I know what keys I can sing in and that’s where I play.

I remember reading an interview with Tom T. Hall. He’d wanted to record an album of bluegrass songs but the studio guys said....”No, Tom, you don’t have that “high lonesome” sound.”
So, Tom just waited till he’d made enough money to go ahead and record the album anyway... Which proved to be a great seller.

[The Bard Rocks]

Here's the flip side.

I have a friend who is an alto, with a limited range. I counseled her to find the key that works for her, then do it there. Fine. Now she leads a song circle who uses song books she's made up - all in her key.

I often find that if I am very familiar with a song, where I should be singing it is burned into the muscle memory of my voice and I cannot sing along with her unless I can find some harmony to fool with. Now the others that attend do not have this "problem" and the results are frequently pathetic; they cannot sing it where she transposed it to - and haven't a clue that they can't.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by Bikewer

I remember reading an interview with Tom T. Hall. He’d wanted to record an album of bluegrass songs but the studio guys said....”No, Tom, you don’t have that “high lonesome” sound.”
So, Tom just waited till he’d made enough money to go ahead and record the album anyway... Which proved to be a great seller.

Yes. Maybe he preferred to have a low sound, with a lot of friends.

[Earl49]

Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks

....Now she leads a song circle who uses song books she's made up - all in her key.....

You gotta do what you need to do. At our ukulele club I have to lead (no other strong singers that can be heard over 12-15 strumming ukes) so I have consistently put songs in my preferred keys. If someone else wants to sing it differently, I can transpose or sing harmony parts, but most folks in our beginner-skewed group usually cannot.

Some of the ladies complain because a male voice is usually a fourth or fifth lower than females. I'm a bari-tenor with a range from the low F# on the guitar up to the open e string. Sometimes when I'm warmed up and singing loudly, I can push a note or two on the high end.

[tonyo]

Originally Posted by skycyclepilot

My vocal range is decidedly bass/baritone. Singing any note above middle "C" is a real stretch, and sounds even worse than notes sung within my normal range! (On the upside - if you could consider it that - I can hit the "C" two octaves below middle "C".)

Anyway, since the general public seems to find high voices more pleasing to the ear, it seems most popular vocalists sing in a range well above mine. As a performer, this leaves me with two options - sing only songs by artists with my same range, or change the key of most songs I want to sing. I usually have to drop a song anywhere from a second to a fifth.

So, is changing the key of a song considered a cardinal sin? It seems to me, that some songs just don't sound quite right in other keys. For example, "Rocky Mountain High" is in "E" - played in "D" with a capo on the second fret. For my voice, the key of "G" or "A" works best, but, I can't play the same licks Denver does, once I change the key, and the song just doesn't sound the same.

So, what do you folks do about this???

No cardinal sin in changing the key. Sounds far better than someone trying badly to sing in the original key.