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Picking Keys
Dear Worship Leaders,
This is a plea on behalf of those of us with mid-range voices to please pick a key that most of us can sing in. So many times these days I have to sing in an Octave below the worship leader because they picked a key where the top notes can only be heard by dogs. Or rather, the key was probably not considered at all. Yes, transposing is a pain. It takes time. But the result is that songs don't then have to go like this:
'There is no other name that is higher than squeeeeeea- eeeekus!'
Oh and that leads into another point. Please don't pick the song with the highest notes for the very first song on a Sunday morning. Or where the highest note is the long eeee sound. Just sayin'.
Thanks for listening! LOL!
Tags: Keys
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Brenda Cameron on -
We have the same problem - there are a lot of songs around now which suit male tenor voices, but make the females sound like cats. I think it is because the recordings are done in a suitable key for the male singer, which is fine, but we don't need to copy the CD, do we?
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Permalink Reply by Dorothy Murphy on -
We surely don't, Brenda.
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Permalink Reply by Toni on -
This is not a new debate, but some writers deliberately choose to use wide ranges in order to make people stretch.
It can be frustrating, however, when some people (not thinking of you, Dee) cannot sing in the normal range, and have to drop all songs by 2 or 3 semitones.
Brenda - I'd suggest that if you copy the CD you've probably already short-changed the song, regardless of key. -
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Permalink Reply by Brenda Cameron on
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I agree, Toni. We don't actually copy the CD, but the male worship leaders tend to want to use the same key as the CD because they have been singing along to it on their own. Then when we come to practice we have to persuade them to drop the key.
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Permalink Reply by Dorothy Murphy on
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Yes, this is usually the reason. Or the music which a musician, like a pianist, needs is only in one key.
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Permalink Reply by James Goodman on -
Hi Dorothy - This is a really good point. We have to adjust songs regularly, especially the newer ones (oh, and really old Welsh hymns!). As I get older my voice is dropping a few semitones too (bah humbug)! I love Chris Tomlin but he sings around a fourth higher than I can manage, and as most females voices seem to be alto they struggle even more so. Fine for a youth service, but a struggle for the rest of us :-)
It's even more of a problem in a small group setting. People are tired at the end of the day, and more exposed because there are fewer of us. So I have to drop down yet another tone or semitone. Thank the Lord for the gift of the Capo and transpose buttons!! -
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Permalink Reply by Dorothy Murphy on
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Oooh yes, much worse in small group setting, had forgotten about that.
What is the transpose button? -
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Permalink Reply by Daniel Read on -
Button on a keyboard that lets you cheat in the same way as with a capo on a guitar...... only the transpose button can go down as well as up.
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Permalink Reply by James Goodman on
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Yeah, that's a right nuisance that we guitarists can't go down as well as up!
I used to think of the capo as cheating, but nowadays I just can't bear the pain of playing songs in Eb or B major with all those barre chords (have you noticed a good lot of Matt Redman's songs are in B?). -
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Permalink Reply by Toni on
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Time to buy a Variax then.
I'd agree about the cheating, provided you use the capo for creative effect rather than so you can just move the standard chord patterns around. -
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Permalink Reply by James Goodman on
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The Variax actually looks very interesting.... !!
I agree the sound of the guitar capo'd at say fret 5 or 7 is totally different from playing the same thing at root position. I love to be able to pluck the open strings and let them ring to create a sort of harp-like effect when the guitar is capo'd midway up the neck. -
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Permalink Reply by Lorraine Doswell on -
Ha, how well I can relate, which is why I like singing harmony.
I never take much too notice of the keys on the CD's so long as the end product sounds OK. Thing is, the pitch of a song can make all the difference in the world to the dynamics of the song. That is where you have to be careful and get the balance right, a song can be killed if it is done too high or too low.
One song I struggle with is 'Wonderful Saviour' - I have yet to find a suitable key. I end up singing the chorus an octave lower which to me takes away the essence of the song. Does anyone else do this song, and in what key? -
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