What’s the Best Key?
In past articles I’ve given you different ways to change the key in a guitar song to the best one for you. But is it necessary to assess the key in every song you play? And, if so, how do you know which key will be the best one?
Why Change the Key?
There are several reasons you might choose to play a song in a different key than the one in which it’s written. You may be playing with other musicians who play the song in a different key than you do. You might want to facilitate fingering or enable preferable chord voicings. Or you may like the tone you can achieve by using a capo. If using a capo for tone is a new concept, try this listening experiment.
Play a few chords or a short melody on your guitar and listen to the quality of the sound. Then place the capo on the second fret, play the same passage, and listen again. You will probably discern a difference in not only the pitch, but also the tone. In fact, you may even hear the tone vary from one capo to the other, depending on the weight of each capo.
The most common reason to change keys, though, is to enable you to sing with the guitar. In any song you sing, it’s important to choose a key that’s comfortable and brings out the best in your voice. To do that, you’ll need to determine both your vocal range and the range of each song you play.
How to Determine Range
The easiest way to discover your vocal range involves singing a scale. It helps to sing along with an instrument, but you don’t have to be proficient at scale playing—a simple C scale in the first position will do. Or, if you have a keyboard, you can start on C and use only white keys as you ascend and descend the scale. If neither of those works for you, just try singing a scale unaccompanied, remembering the “Doe (do), a Deer” song!
Begin by singing a descending scale, taking note of when you go beyond your comfort level. It’s helpful to do it a few times, so you can get an honest assessment of which note is the lowest you can sing with comfort and clarity. Remember that note! Then, sing the ascending scale, taking note of the place in the scale that’s too high for you to sing well. Once you know which notes are at the limits of your range, write them down.
Next, you’ll need to determine the range of the songs you play. If you have written music for a song, you can easily spot the highest and lowest notes. If you don’t have music, you’ll need to sing the song to find those notes, and then find them on your guitar or other instrument, so you can name them.
Now, all you have to do is compare your range to the one in the song and adjust accordingly.
Or… Just Try Different Keys!
If you find it difficult to determine the highest and lowest notes, all is not lost! Just try singing the song in the original key and see if you can tell whether it’s too high or too low for your voice. If it is, is it a lot too high (or low) or a little? Using that information, try different keys until you find the one that works for you.
Once you’ve settled on your perfect key, write it down in your DAILY, or on a list that you keep in your guitar case. You’ll be glad you did!
Easily learn about keys and a whole lot more in A Guitar Player’s Guide to Music Theory! Topics include: the staff, time signatures, key signatures, scales, chord construction, the circle of fifths, transposing and more. Worksheets and answer sheets provided. (Choose book or PDF)
