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 How To Change Keys
Transposing A Song To A Different Key
Many musicians seem baffled on how to transpose a song to
a different key. What does this mean? This means that you
can take any song, and move it to a "higher" or "lower"
pitch which will allow the vocalist to adjust his or her
voice to accordingly fit the song in his or her "vocal
range". If you have ever tried singing one of your favorite
songs, and couldn't quite hit the proper notes, transposition
is for you. For example, let's look at an easy classic, like
the song "Wild Thing". This song is most commonly played in
the key of G, consisting of the common 3 chord progression
of the intervals 1,4 and 5. Derived from G diatonic major
scale, this equivalent chord formula becomes the common chord
progression of G major, C major and D major as taught in the
basic demonstration, "example #1". For many vocalist who may
attempt to sing the lyrics to this song, they may discover
that it is either to "high" of a pitch, or possibly, to "low"
of a pitch.
What To Do
Troubleshoot #1
If you find that the song your trying to sing is hard for you
to hit the "low notes", try "moving up" a key. For example:
Instead of playing the song in G, try moving up 2 frets to the
key of A. It's as simple as moving all chords up by 2 frets.
Now, instead of playing the chords G,C,D, you will be playing
the chords A,D,E as shown in example #2.
Troubleshoot #2
If you find that the song your trying to sing is hard for you
to hit the "high"notes try:
"moving DOWN a key".
For example:
Instead of playing the song in G, try moving down
2 frets to the key of F.
This is as simple as moving all chords "down"
2 frets.
Now, instead of playing the chords G,C,D, you will be playing
the chords F,A#,and C, as shown in example #3.
Special Notes *
1)
Remember when transposing songs to other keys:
There are no sharps and or flats between E & F, and B &C.
2)
It's also common to try songs in sharp(#) or Flat(b)
keys, such as F#/Gb, G#/Ab, A#/Bb, C#/Db, D#/Eb.
3) Experiment! The terminology of the musical term "octave"
means everything to every trained musician. In otherwords:
Just because you can't sing in the lower octave of the key
of G, doesn't mean that you may not be able to sing in the
higher key of G. The one thing that a "true" musician will
"NEVER DO"... Is "give up". Wether you are aiming twoard's
becoming a live performer, or studio musician, or simply
wish to have fun around the campfire... Take the time to
understand this theory, and once again "experiment" with
your voice and learn which "tonal key center" that you may
sound best to sing in.
Encouraging Thought's
This goes out to everyone from beginner player's to the
best of Karoke singers. There's an old saying between
all of the old musicians.
"Everyone and Anyone" can sing all of their favorite song's.
They simply have to find the right key for their vocal range".
See the tablature examples link below which demonstrates the
song "Wild Thing" played in 3 different keys.
This classic hit is taught using "easy to play" Powerchords
for a quicker and easier understanding of this theory.
See Tablature Examples
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