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Determining Key

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(@drunkrock)
Estimable Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 159
Topic starter  

Sorry if this has been covered before, but a search did not turn up the answer to my question.

A lot of posts accross the WWW deal with writing a song based on which key you sing best in, or transposing a song into your key. However, I can't find any posts that deal with determining what you key is. I would imagine determining your key is pretty important if you're going to write songs that best suit your voice.

So how do I go about determining what key I find easiest and/or sound best in?

Thanks in advance.


   
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(@fretsource)
Prominent Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 973
 

This is basically a misconception. Whether you can sing a particular song or not depends on the pitch range of its melody (in any given key) compared to the pitch range of your voice. If the notes ALL lie within that pitch range, you can sing it, whatever the key.


   
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(@drunkrock)
Estimable Member
Joined: 17 years ago
Posts: 159
Topic starter  

Thanks for the clarification. How would I go about determining my range using a guitar, as I don't have access to another instrument.


   
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(@misanthrope)
Noble Member
Joined: 18 years ago
Posts: 2261
 

Play a note, then try to match it with your voice. Keep working up from that note, one note at a time, seeing if you can match it. The top of your range is the highest note you can sing comfortably. There'll be one or two higher that you can just about reach, but that are not comfortable - those are the ones that you can practice to extend your range.

Do the same downwards for the lower end of your range, but these low notes will harder to determine as they tend to be a bit hit and miss (at least they are for me).

ChordsAndScales.co.uk - Guitar Chord/Scale Finder/Viewer


   
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