Getting started: choosing key, advice needed

[BasqueElle]

I've sung in choirs, mainly community choirs, soprano, gospel, rock,a mixture. I have a strong voice, but I've always had to be alongside another strong voice, confident about the pitch but not the timing. Now, however, I live in a place where there are no choirs to join, but I have chance to sing with a good pianist and perhaps a guitar and harmonica accompaniment as well. Scary, but time to see if I can do it or not.

 

I've chosen for my first attempt a song I have sung in choir: Sinner Man. When I come to buy the sheet music, though, I see there is a choice of key. This is stuff I don't understand. How to choose? Which of us has flexibility in key, me, the piano or the guitar? I do know the harmonica is fixed, in this case, G, which might not work for this song.

 

Can anyone advise?

 

Elle

[Pine Apple Slim]

Go to a piano and find the key YOU prefer to sing it in and do it there.

 

The Guitarist and Bassist should be able to handle any key.

 

The Harp player too, tho he might have to buy another harmonica, or not depending on what key harps he has and what key the song is in.

[Drummer44]

Choose your best key first.

 

If it happens your "pianist" is actually using an electronic keyboard, the transpose function allows playing the notes as written, no matter which score key you've chosen.

 

If you also have flexibility to go up or down a semi-tone, that might sometimes make it easier for guitarists. For examples, the key of D or E might be easier than Eb, G or A might be easier than Ab, etc., depending on the piece.

 

-D44

 

 

 

 

[WRGKMC]

If you had taken professional vocal lessons you would have learned many of the basics you missed singing in chorus.

 

First get yourself a Chromatic pitch pipe.. You can buy them new between $9 & $30 depending on the quality. You can easily find them for half that price on eBay.

 

 

Next you can use it to find your vocal range. Sing a not at your lowest comfortable pitch. Then find that pitch on the pitch pipe.

Next do the same for your highest comfortable note.

 

Those two extremes will be your vocal range. This range can change on a daily or hourly basis but consider those your danger areas where you probably wouldn't want to go. Next, starting with the lowest note, you figure out how many octaves there are in between. An octave is 11 semitones above that low note and then the next octave is another 11 semitones above that.

 

The number of octaves should give you the range of notes . If you select a pitch between your highest and lowest notes you'll be able to sing above and below the key without any major discomfort.

 

From there you have to figure out what keys you can sing your best in. The opening and closing chord to most songs will tell you the key of a song. You can use the pitch pipe to identify songs you hear on the radio or CD's by matching that first note. If you can sing along to the song without overextending your voice beyond your upper and lower ranges you'll probably be good with everything else in between.

 

Over time you gain experience finding these keys without the aid of a pitch pipe. A good deal of this comes through visualizing the scales in your mind before you even use your voice. Developing that inner ear varies from person to person. Some who begin at an early age often develop perfect pitch and can identify notes without any aids. Others can have an awful time finding and staying on pitch. Believe me I've spent decades working with other musicians and when it comes to working on harmonies, it can be extremely frustrating. With a small 4 piece band singing 3 part harmonies, there's nothing that beats vocal practice for developing skill.

 

I've always had an excellent ear for deciphering vocal parts. I'll spend time with another singer getting him to sing his harmony part. Then I'll attempt to sing my part along with him, and 9 X out of 10 he will loose his part. Why? Because he looses concentration and listens to me instead of focusing on his own voice. When you sing harmonies you have to be able to block out what the others are singing and focus on projecting your own musical intervals. Timing and copying each others word pronunciation is the thing that brings them all together tightly.

 

Even though my voice isn't the best, I have strong technical skills and concentration. You also have to be aware of others. Its kind of like peripheral vision where you sense what others are doing all the time. If you hear them playing to slow, you slow down yourself and get a lock on each others tempos. Sometimes you both try and lock on each other and its like passing someone in a hallway, you both decide to move left or right at the same time. Eventually you both learn to bear right so you can pass each other.

 

This is similar to music. You have to work with others to develop this skill. Working with musicians you may find they may know your skills better then you do. A good keyboard player should be able to hear what your vocal range is and give you your open note before the song begins. This can be a good foundation to build on. If you hear that opening chord, you should be able to find your opening note within that chord. The rest just takes skill gained with experience. There aren't many shortcuts for experience. You have to pay the dues to sing the blues as they say. The more hours per day you put in the better you become. Listening to music allot is just as important. If you've heard a song 20 times and think you can sing it, listen to it another 200 times and that confidence level might match the reality better. When you've heard the song so much you begin to hate it, you can probably pull it off blindfolded and wearing ear plugs.