Is it possible for a particular "key" to contain your very best quality singingtone ?

[danjovi]

If someone can bring some info on this, id be much appreciative

 

I was messing around with transposing some music into other keys and I found that in one particular key (dont know what it is)

 

I sang much more comfortably..

 

and my tone was a better quality.

 

 

so is it possible that singing in a particular key can hold a tone that is quite better than singing in other keys for a singer?

 

enough so that it would make an original song sound better by transposing it around those notes?

[Jersey Jack]

I don't think so. Although it seems reasonable that a particular key will be most comfortable for your voice, in fact we're talking about range, not key. For example, the key of C and the key of G are 4 or 5 scale degrees apart (depending on the home key), which is pretty significant; this distance represents the furthest possible difference between keys.

 

But C & G share seven of their eight notes, so songs in either key can fall squarely in your comfort range. If you think about it, anyone with at least an octave's range can sing in any key as long as the particular song is written into the singer's comfort zone. It all depends on how the songs are written, and you'll find that different songs feel more comfortable in different keys.

 

We've brawled here about this matter several times, but I believe that key signatures simply define relative relationships between notes, and have no special emotional or cosmic resonances. Modes do have special resonances (minor, dom7, etc.) but only against other modes, not within their own groups (i.e., Em has nothing that Am doesn't also have.)

 

The important thing is to try to expand your range, so that you don't constantly need to transpose everything (which may make the band testy!).

[Notes_Norton]

In a word, "no".

 

The range of the notes in the melody are not directly related to the key of the song.

 

Do yourself a favor (if you haven't already done so), get a book on basic, elementary music theory. Every musician (that includes singers) should have at least the basics in their heads.

 

It will help you understand what music is all about.

 

Insights and incites by Notes

[blue2blue]

I'll take a contrarian position here.

 

Since I have a moderately wide (but certainly not pretty) range of about 3 octaves, I used to make a point of feeling like I could sing any song in any key. And, sure, I could usually hit the notes...

 

But the human voice -- certainly my human voice -- is far from consistent in timbre across that range and in what I must do to achieve certain pitches. Also, a note doesn't have to be at a low or high extreme to present challenges. If it falls in a 'transition' area, it may well be uncomfortable or problematic whatever vocal mode one approaches it from. (It may well make sense to work with that problem area in order to improve one's control -- don't get me wrong!)

 

So, while it might be good woodshedding practice to sing a given song in multiple keys (and I often 'shop around' and explore, since my voice is always a work in progress), when push comes to shove and I'm looking for the best performance of any given song, I definitely look for the key where my voice will sound best on that particular melody (or where the key will open up interesting techniques, etc).

 

Now, to be sure, everyone's vocal apparatus is different, and I suspect that many are more open and flexible than mine. I have a highly colored/filtered voice because of the shape of my voice box, sinuses, etc. So it makes a big difference where I pitch a song.

 

Now, doubling back, I definitely think one should not simply pick a friendly set of keys and stick within them, at least not if one is trying to extend and improve his singing... but that's more for practice and exploration. With regard to performance -- when it counts, I'll try to find the best key for me for a given song.

[Mamma Cat]

I would side with blue2blue here. Every vocalist has his limit and an area in which he "shines", where his timbre and all of his qualities come to focus. Of course a lot of things depend on the range of the song itself and the way the melody is constructed, but you will certainly sing with more or less difficulty in certain keys, while other will show you in the best of light.

[DaveAronow]

 

I'll take a contrarian position here. Since I have a moderately wide (but certainly not pretty) range of about 3 octaves, I used to make a point of feeling like I could sing any song in any key. And, sure, I could usually hit the notes... But the human voice -- certainly my human voice -- is far from consistent in timbre across that range and in what I must do to achieve certain pitches. Also, a note doesn't have to be at a low or high extreme to present challenges. If it falls in a 'transition' area, it may well be uncomfortable or problematic whatever vocal mode one approaches it from. (It may well make sense to work with that problem area in order to improve one's control -- don't get me wrong!) So, while it might be good woodshedding practice to sing a given song in multiple keys (and I often 'shop around' and explore, since my voice is always a work in progress), when push comes to shove and I'm looking for the best performance of any given song, I definitely look for the key where my voice will sound best on that particular melody (or where the key will open up interesting techniques, etc). Now, to be sure, everyone's vocal apparatus is different, and I suspect that many are more open and flexible than mine. I have a highly colored/filtered voice because of the shape of my voice box, sinuses, etc. So it makes a big difference where I pitch a song. Now, doubling back, I definitely think one should not simply pick a friendly set of keys and stick within them, at least not if one is trying to extend and improve his singing... but that's more for practice and exploration . With regard to performance -- when it counts, I'll try to find the best key for me for a given song.

 

 

Yes, but it sounds like you are talking about transposing a particular song from one key to another key for the purpose of adjusting the song back into a more comfortable range. Once again, the concern is range and not key. The key only becomes relevent because it has already been established and fixed by a finished song thereby locking it into a particular range. The3 only way to get it into a more comfortable range, is to transpose it into another key. As far as singing in one randomly picked key verses another, say scale exercizes in different keys, but still limiting the scales to within your comfort range,I dont rerally see HOW you copuld be more comfortable singing in some keys verses the other. There are only 12 notes you have to worry about. Any of them in all the different keys could fall within the range of whatever you are singing at the time.

 

O.K. there are some highly improbable, but possible situations where singing in one key would be prefered over another.THE ONLY possible way I could see how a particular key would be more comfortable than others has to do with individual notes themselves. Some individual notes may be less comfortable even if they fall within the comfort zone of your range. Some people actually have small problem areas where their throat may naturally try to tighten, or many physiological reasons I cant explain well, maybe someone else can, that cause a particular pitch to be harder to sing, control, have a quality sound, whatever... it is possible for these physiological hinderences to occur over a very narrow range of pitches, or even a fraction of one particular pitch, in which case, any key that you choose to sing in that uses that problem note, will be a slightly less comfortable key than one that doesnt contain it.

 

Also, tied to this same situation of particular notes, is where people with highly developed senses of perfect pitch... actually developed might not be the right word, alot of freakishly accurate people with perfect pitch seem to be born with it. Anyway, make sure you dont confuse perfect pitch with reletive pitch when reading this, but, in some cases , I can see where some people with extremely sensitive cases of perfect pitch might be annoyed by, or have certyain pitches that they just dont like the sound of for whatever reason. These cases would ALSO cause someone to try to avoid any keys that contain these notes. To give you an example of how extreme perfect pitch affects some people..... some of these people actually have perfect pitch tied to other senses in their brain. It has to do with the size and shape of the hypothalmus which is the part of the brain that links one hemisphere to the other. Alot of senses get overlapped and tied together in people with underdeveloped, or a damaged hypothalmus which causes the normal seperation of hte hemispheres to be comprimized. These people may actually see colors when they hear a specific pitch, or they might activate any of the other senses when they hear specific pitches. In alot of these rare cases, peoplke with this ability actually undergo a very different and specific linked sense for every different note they hear. There are numerous reports of having taste sensations for certain pitches, or even in some cases all pitches cause a unique taste sensation linked only to that pitch. Many of these people see individual shapes and specific three dimentional forms in their imagination associated with each individual pitch, and on and on with links to senses other than hearing. Just as you and I might have tastes or smells that we dont particulary care for, some of these ultra sensitive "pitch freaks" have certain pitches they would rather avoid. Especially if they are out of tune, or in tune with an instrument that isnt based off an A at 440.

So, these cases of people trying to avoid certain pitches loosely ties in with trying to avoid, or favoring certain keys.

 

ANYWAY, these are extreme rare cases, and I am really grasping at straws trying to come up with SOME, albeit very unusual, cases where someone would be more comfortable singing in one particular key over another.

 

Otherwise, as mentioned already in a couple other posts, you are talkning about being comfortable in a particular range, not any specific key. Lets say you are singing in your absolute sweet spot, maybe a range of about an octave and a half. Does it really matter whether you are singing in C major for example and there are no sharps, or whether you are singing in A major and there are three sharps? Remember , you are still in your sweet spot and we arent talking about transposing an already fixed melody. Just assume practicing short scales somewhere in your sweetspot, for example.

 

This is probably WAY too many words simply to say, I think you are talking more about range, and not so much the key.

[Bajazz]

Let's say you sing a song in G with highest tone G, and then C major with highest note G. So do you really think that your voice is better at the note F# versus F (the only different note in those two keys? or the opposite?

 

No way!

[samkokajko]

I would say yes as there are going to be certain keys that sound more natural and feel more natural too you and are therefore easier for you to get a good tone. It isn't inherently or physically that way, it just seems right easier.

[blue2blue]

Depending on one's vocal apparatus and technical grasp, yes, definitely a matter of a semitones or two can definitely make a difference as to timbre... and if the note is in a transition area, the ease of getting and holding tone could be a real issue -- and could be one that varies on a daily basis.

 

I'm sure that those with well-trained voices and nicely formed vocal apparatuses have greater flexibility in avoiding problem spots, but those problems can certainly arise at a number of places in a given individual's ranges. Seems to me.

[danjovi]

well, im a music major so I know the "basics" lol

 

I dont have any problem with range, infact I have a very wide range and I am very good with hitting the right pitches

 

but just cause someone can hit a wide range of notes and has good pitch DOESNT mean they have a pleasant vocal tone.

 

I can sing in any key, and I can hit many pitches in any key, BUT i don't feel the quality of the tone is as good

 

I had a few people listen to me sing in person over the weekend and they agreed that I sounded better in certain keys

 

Thanks to everyone who wrote. I'm just giving my 2 cents on the matter now lol