Moving a song an octave down?

Rez · #1 11-30-2019, 11:25 AM

I did my homework and googled it but didn't find any satisfactory answers. I've been playing this song which is played on frets 5-8 and strings 1-4 starting from 5th fret on the D string which is a G. But this is too treble for my voice and I'd like to move the whole thing an octave down. The lower G would be the open G string and so now all the shapes have to be changed. So I have no idea. I think capos make notes only more treble.

rick-slo · #2 11-30-2019, 01:45 PM

I would probably leave the guitar in standard tuning and play the low G in the regular location for a G chord (sixth string third fret). Know the chord
names and it should be pretty straight forward though unlikely totally note for note.

Mandobart · #3 11-30-2019, 09:01 PM

I think you are confused on terminology. "Moving down an octave" means you are still in the same key. Moving a song from the key of G to the key of C (transposing keys) on the other hand, moves everything up a fourth. Depending on how you sing it the notes can be higher or lower.

Do you understand what we mean when we say I, IV, V progression? In the key of G that means the progression is G, C, D. In the key of C that would be C, F, G. In D it would be D, G, A. The intervals remain the same, but the notes change. Sounds like what you want to do is transpose to a key where you can sing lower. If you really want to sing it a whole octave lower you don't have to change keys or chords at all. But I don't think that's what you really mean.

Rez · #4 12-02-2019, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mandobart

I think you are confused on terminology. "Moving down an octave" means you are still in the same key. Moving a song from the key of G to the key of C (transposing keys) on the other hand, moves everything up a fourth. Depending on how you sing it the notes can be higher or lower.

Do you understand what we mean when we say I, IV, V progression? In the key of G that means the progression is G, C, D. In the key of C that would be C, F, G. In D it would be D, G, A. The intervals remain the same, but the notes change. Sounds like what you want to do is transpose to a key where you can sing lower. If you really want to sing it a whole octave lower you don't have to change keys or chords at all. But I don't think that's what you really mean.

Yes in the same key i.e. the same exact note sequence just an octave lower. I don't think there is a simple way for this.

merlin666 · #5 12-02-2019, 03:33 PM

This question is not easy to understand. I think that the OP plays a melody and wants to sing the same notes along (which if you use a piano can help with singing practice). If he starts with G on fret 5 of the D-string, then to move an octave lower he would have to start with the G on fret 3 of the E (lowest) string, so it is feasible.

Chipotle · #6 12-02-2019, 04:07 PM

If you truly mean an octave down, the chords will all be the same. No need to change what you play at all. If it's just to fit your voice, just sing an octave lower.

If you can't "hear" that for some reason, or just think it sounds weird to sing lower when the guitar is playing higher, you'll have to find chord voicings that you can play on lower frets. It shouldn't be too hard to find chord charts and find versions of the same chords that are on lower frets/strings. The chords themselves don't change.

(And yes, capos only make the pitch of the strings go higher, so a capo won't help you here if you want to play the same chord shapes but with a lower tone.)

agfsteve · #7 12-02-2019, 04:16 PM

What song is it?

I would have thought it would be easier to play it an octave lower, on the assumption that open chords come into play.

JonPR · #8 12-03-2019, 06:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rez

Yes in the same key i.e. the same exact note sequence just an octave lower. I don't think there is a simple way for this.

Well, the chord shapes will change. How much that matters - or how simple/difficult it is - depends on whether there are distinctive guitar patterns.

E.g., the G major chord shape you currently have is I guess x-x-5-7-8-7 (a "D" shape).
The same notes an octave down are easy: 3-x-0-0-0-x (the basic "G" shape). But then any other chords might not translate so exactly.

Give us more details (youtube link? tab?), and we can give you more details.

Rez · #9 12-04-2019, 08:41 AM

Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMr2BmiNHto
There is a link to the tab in the description.

What I have in mind is pretty simple to describe. Like when playing the piano if you want to go an octave lower then you just move your hand(s) one octave down. But for guitar it seems complicated.

rick-slo · #10 12-04-2019, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rez

Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMr2BmiNHto
There is a link to the tab in the description.

What I have in mind is pretty simple to describe. Like when playing the piano if you want to go an octave lower then you just move your hand(s) one octave down. But for guitar it seems complicated.

It's impossible rather than complicated to duplicate the way it would be done on the piano.

However with a simple single note line as in your link it is pretty simple and straight forward to rearrange the strings and frets played. Find the string and fret location to play the notes an octave down.
Write the locations down and then learnand memorize off of that.

For example one way for the first part:
----------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------
-----------2-2-2-0-3-0----------------------
-------------------------2-3-5-5-3-2-0--------
--0-0-0-0-------------------------------4-1-1--
---------------------------------------------

MC5C · #11 12-04-2019, 09:18 AM

I guess we need to understand what you think the difficulty is, why you foresee a problem. What I would do is frankly just play it an octave lower, I transpose by octaves all the time, and do it by sight-reading - but maybe you don't read, or know the names of the notes, and work mostly from TAB. If I didn't read I would perhaps start by locating the first note - middle G, third string open, although you play it fifth fret on the D string - and an octave lower is low G - sixth string, third fret. From there, work out the melody based on open position, probably using the bottom four or five strings, and you'll have lowered it by an octave. But yes, all the shapes will change.

Edit: when I say I transpose by octaves all the time, I mean that I hate reading stacks of ledger lines for notes above C first string 8th fret. I just write them an octave lower, and play them up high. In fact, compared to piano the guitar is a transposing instrument already. Middle C on piano is the first ledger line below the treble staff, and guitar plays that note as the C below middle C. We play middle C as second string, first fret, in the middle of the staff. I think.

charles Tauber · #12 12-04-2019, 10:07 AM

Sure, within the range of the instrument, you can play the notes an octave lower. Unlike the piano, you can’t “transpose” the fingerings, just the notes themselves. In most cases, the fingerings will change as you do so.

mr. beaumont · #13 12-04-2019, 10:15 AM

I'm very confused...are you singing the same notes you're playing?

charles Tauber · #14 12-04-2019, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

I'm very confused...

I'm not clear, either, as to why one would want to drop the notes on the guitar an octave.

RedJoker · #15 12-04-2019, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rez

I did my homework and googled it but didn't find any satisfactory answers. I've been playing this song which is played on frets 5-8 and strings 1-4 starting from 5th fret on the D string which is a G. But this is too treble for my voice and I'd like to move the whole thing an octave down. The lower G would be the open G string and so now all the shapes have to be changed. So I have no idea. I think capos make notes only more treble.

(I added the bold above.) If the question is truly one about singing, just sing an octave lower but play the same notes. As an example, Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Ti-Do.... ends up with the 'Do's an octave apart.

However, whole octaves are a big vocal jump so you may need a smaller jump and the capo can still help you.

You are correct that a capo only moves notes up, however, the octave on a guitar is at the 12th fret. So, if you put the capo on the 12th fret and play exactly as you are but with the frets relative to the capo, it's in the exact same key. Now you can start moving your capo down to get it into a range that your voice likes. You can play it exactly as you are now, relative to the capo but sing it an octave lower than the notes the guitar is playing.

Clear as mud?