"Treasure" by Bruno Mars.....what key?

[New Trail]

For those of you who play Treasure, what key do you play it in.  The original key is Ab, but on The Voice they played it in A.  We learned it in Ab but it still seems a little high for our singer.  What about G?

[Vito Corleone]

Do it in whatever key is best for your singer. Bands always think the audience will notice songs being played in the "wrong" key. But they never do.

[Opus Antics]

What Guido said.  We often change keys to put the song in the range that best fits the lead vocalist's voice.  Try it in a few different keys and see where your singer is most comfortable.  Then play it there.

[TrickyBoy]

OK - First off, not to be a dick, but I'm assuming when you say "A" you mean the first chord is "A" because in that case, the song is in C#min (the D# gives that away)....  

What Guido said, we're all over the place transposing songs and no one ever notices.  Find where it's comfortable for your singer and have the band adjust.  Honestly, having the first chord as a G would not change the sound of it at all.  Going lower than that would change how the guitarist would have to play the chords, which would make a little difference in the sound, but I still think you could pull it off with little to no notice from the audience.

[jeff42]

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TrickyBoy wrote:

 

What Guido said, we're all over the place transposing songs and no one ever notices.  Find where it's comfortable for your singer and have the band adjust.  

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This is what we do too. We would rather not have our singers sound awful straining to hit a note when we can just change the key. as far as I know, No one in the crowd has ever noticed or at least no one seemes to care.

 

[SpaceNorman]

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TrickyBoy wrote:

 

What Guido said, we're all over the place transposing songs and no one ever notices. Find where it's comfortable for your singer and have the band adjust.

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Yep! Same with us. In fact, when my male fronted six piece attacks a "high" tune (i.e., something originally done by a female or a "boy band" with high voices) - we sometimes transpose the key up - finding that it's the "shortest" path to putting it in our vocalist's sweet spot by singing it an octave lower.   I know it sounds strange - but it works for some tunes.   Weird but true.