Maybe because I've been learning so much about music theory that my head might explode.. but I've been playing guitar for almost a year, and I like to sing but I'm not a trained singer. I can tell you I like to sing like Pearl Jam, or Seven Mary Three, or Staind, and Days of the new. Staind for instance uses a lot of songs with the guitar tuned down 1/2 step.
I have a seven mary three music book and most songs are in the key of G or D from the transcripts and the guitar is regular tuned. I know Travis Meeks has a deep voice like myself and he tunes his guitar down 1/2 step.
So if I have a lower voice, does that mean a capo is taking it the wrong direction for me? And if there is a song I like but it's too high to sing what key do I transpose it to? Do I transpose the chords or do I tune down the guitar. I can do the do.rey, me, starting on the low E string at F 1st fret to A on the high e...
How can I recognize a song in the key of and say, "oh, that's too high or low for me, this is my range...."
Thank you so much if you can clarify this for me.
John
If you can sing just over 2 octaves you have a much better range than me. I can hit just about an octave and a half.
You are looking for a comfort range, from what note to what note are you comfortable singing.
If a piece goes beyond your range in either direction you need to change keys.
Remember it is about octaves and putting a capo on because the range is too high actually will work. Because your vocals do not have to match the octave of the guitar parts, just the key.
Take your example range,(you can sing) Start at E and go 2 octaves. lets say a piece starts at G and goes 2 octaves, (going beyond your comfort range) you can raise the music to start on E and sing it an octave lower putting it in your range.
I am no expert by far and this is just personal experience.
Don't feel bad; I was trained as a baritone/high bass, then after four years he told me I could sing tenor :? .
It all changed after the cigarettes :oops: . (Quit six years now)
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The easiest way John, Is to use a piano! *ducks at maelstorm of junk being thrown by guitarists*
But really, because a piano has notes aligned in a linear fashion, it is all the easier to figure out your range.
Start at the Middle C on the piano or keyboard (btw it doesnt matter which really, keyboard only go as high or low as the average of all the singing ranges) and work your way down, descending, B A G F E D.... etc.
Once you get to a the note you can barely sing, sharp it! so if you can go to the D natural below middle C, but only just barely, go up a semitone to D# in this case, and then try to sing it.
note: use the reverse of this method for calculating your higest sounding.
This is your lowest sounding. Count up from the middle C singing each note, and using the same method, and find your highest sounding. This is your range.
Range is only measured in Naturals, but its important to know your limits. Singing is about pushing those limits.
SO... now you have your range. ahhh yes.... keys....
If you have your range calculated now and it is 2 octaves or so, you SHOULD be fine.
It all depends on the vocal pattern, we're not all that singer with the 3 and a half octave range, some people are (usually the famous ones) so even if you were to drop the vocal melody down an octave you might still have to go to the top of your range or further, regardless of the fact you lowered the song by an octave.
My advice is doing blues, in all the keys, each time trying to sing it with the natural vocal pattern, and then with the lowered octave pattern.
NOW THIS IS THE BEST PART.
Once you get to that key that is near the top of your range and ABSOLUTE bottom, and you don't feel comfortable singing either, improvise. Make a new pattern for that part of the song.
The artist has arranged the song for themselves, so arrange the song for yourself!
Hope this helped John!
What I do is sing along and take note of where there are notes I can't reach, then copy that note on the guitar, bringing it down one fret at a time until I can hit it. I then count the number of frets distance and transpose that many half-steps down. I usually add one for good measure, and will keep going if it means I can squeeze more open chords in, just for ease of playing and learning.
If the song is only just outside your range, then just do it by trial and error - much quicker if you use barre chords for working it out. I recently learned You can call me Al, which is in G. I could sing it fine when I played it except for the high part at the end of the second and third choruses. I tried it in F and could just about manage it, but it wasn't comfortable. I tried it in E and that was fine, plus I get more open chords in there just so my index finger doesn't fall off by the end :)
To fit the capo question into that example (even though it's already been answered), I could also have carried on using the open chord shapes from G and capo'd at the 9th fret to make it in E. Just start with the capo at the twelth fret so it's the same key with the chords in a different octave and move back a fret at a time until you hit a key that suits you.
I did that range finding thing and I have a near perfect 2 octave range. I can go for middle C down only to D/E (and I really can't get anything like it at this low C or below), but I can go up from middle C to D/E (after which I can get the notes out, but only under real duress).
So I guess that's kind of good. I thought I'd have an incredibly limited range. And the fact that I have a standard 2 + some higher notes is quite useful.
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Zach,
Thanks for that description on finding your range. I'm at work so when I get home I'll mess around. I'm just starting to teach myself piano while playing guitar so it happens I have a piano at home. I recently bought a toneport for recording my acoustic playing and singing, and it's been a great tool for working on singing, and hearing it recorded. I'd say I'm a baritone because the songs I gravitate toward singing are like these singers,
Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam
Arron Lewis from Staind
Ed Kowalchyk from Live (Although some of his stuff is really high for me)
Hootie and the blowfish (Don't know his name)
Jason Ross (Seven Mary Three)
Most of those songs are in standard tuning or tuned down 1/2 step, although one or two have capo on 1st through 3rd fret. I've never played a song with a capo beyond the 3rd fret.
Thanks again,
john
it sounds more like you are a ranged baritone, because the singers you mentioned are half tenors...
cheers mate!
It's not about what key you can sing in, it's about your range. There might be songs in the key of C that may be too high for you, other songs in the key of C that are too low.
If a song contains a few notes that you can't hit comfortable, you might consider changing the song's key. This can be done by tuning the guitar down, or by using a capo, but you may also transpose it into another key and play different chord shapes.
For example, if a song is originally in the key of C, and you like to sing it a bit lower, you might consider singing it in G instead. Tuning down isn't really an option in this case. You might use a capo on the 7th fret, but that may not be a very good solution either, so you might try transposing the song. If the song uses the chords C, Am, F and G those will become G, Em, C and D. This might work, but it gives the song a different flavor, because you now use different chord shapes, but sometimes the ideal solution does not exist and you have to find a good compromise.
