looking for the ONE key to rule them all

Uncle Rod Higuchi

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OK, probably not just one key...

Here's my dilemma - as a song leader of people with different vocal ranges, from High Soprano to Low Bass, from your own experience, how have you prepared your song sheets (in terms of key selection) to acommodate both players and singers.

We can all sing in Eb, Bb, E, etc, but we can't all play the uke in those keys...yet. And sometimes the key that can acommodate most vocal ranges is one of those.

This is very self-serving, but as leader I've been preparing song sheets in the key I can sing well (loudly enough to lead, and not too high or too low). The problem is that I have a lower register (Baritone) so Tenors and Sopranos find themselves "octave-jumping" to sing songs in "my" keys (A, D, etc).

What do you folks do when confronted with this kind of situation?

I want and need your input because I'm on the committee to prepare the new 2010 SUPA Songbook.

Mahalo,
 
What I have seen is singers don't like to adjust their singing at all, they expect you to transpose to their key.

But I've also seen stubborn bands who won't transpose, either, making a singer squeak to get by.

In general instrumentalists are expected to transpose. Check out the Nashville system, where chords are written by number, not by letter (I, IV, V7, IIm7, etc.)
 
It is so tricky. So very tricky. In the end, you have to take things piece by piece and figure out what is going to be playable and singable.

I usually find I have to experiment quite a bit to find a key that is both simple to play in and vocally friendly.

When I do need to have a piece a bit higher to keep it friendly my trick is usually to raise it up to the point where I can sing it without ever switching to falsetto (I am a baritone). That switching point can be on very different notes depending on the song… but I do not like to use falsetto at all if I am singing lead (for one, my falsetto is "backing vocals" quality, not solo quality, for another if folks are singing along it means someone is getting left behind).

Another trick I use is the song's low note. Some songs never go bellow the tonic, while most drop to the low dominant. Depending where the song "lives" within the scale, I will have a completely different set of keys I will experiment with.

Using an auto-transposer and just playing through several keys is probably the most useful thing (for it sounds like you have a good feel for where in your range others are most comfortable).

I have only recently started playing Ukulele, so your milage on this stuff may vary. It is based on my experience singing lead with a band at church. They patiently play any key I throw at them (though I think they will mutiny if I keep a certain piece in Db).
 
What I have seen is singers don't like to adjust their singing at all, they expect you to transpose to their key.

Dang right the band is transposing to my key! *laughs*

Though I try to be as kind as possible and always bring lead sheets in the key I wish to sing in.
 
My wife is a soprano and since I sing like a drunken Marine I always get her to sing for me. The problem is the key. She wants me to play higher but I don't know how to transpose. My dad tells her to adjust her key and then he demonstrates how. The dilema can be solved if we meet in middle. We find a key that we are both comfortable with or I spend more time practising.
 
My significant other is a singer, and we love to play and sing together. So I've fallen into using the following criteria for choosing keys:

  • What fits her vocal range
  • What fits my vocal range
  • What "flows" well on a ukulele

The result is that for many songs I end up creating TWO arrangements; one in a key she is comfortable in that also flows well on a uke, and one in a key better suited to my range, for when I'm playing and singing by myself. I'm not sure how I'd apply that logic to assembling a group songbook, but that's how I've tackled this on the homefront.
 
One Key...?

Thanks for your input UUers.

We may need to resolve into 2 keys that will be user-friendly to both the Majority and the Minority. How's that for a democratic solution.

Of course we still have to deal with who is going to lead in each of the keys?

This doesn't look like it's going to be easily settled. Of course, if we could all learn to play (comfortably) in Eb, Bb and E, maybe we wouldn't have this problem. And yet THAT, precisely, is the rub. We are "limiting" ourselves both by our vocal range and our ukulele-playing skills/preferences. And talk about herding cats, try getting a congenial group to transpose on the fly, even on a simple song where it's the same 3 or 4 chords repeatedly. Most resort to "air" ukulele or simply wait it out.

Anyway, thanks again. Looking for even more input. Now's your chance to really vent and get it off your chest. And we'll all patiently and empathetically listen, nodding and whispering, "yes, yes."
 
My husband and I have kind of gravitated into a nice niche, key-wise. Nearly all of the songs we do are in C, D, G or A.

And we ALWAYS go with the key that is best-suited for the person singing lead.

Some songs we will learn in 2 different keys, depending on which of us is singing the lead.

When we jam with other people, if they want to play in a key other than our "4 faves," it usually is E, for which I use a capo (Rich is fine playing in E without one).
 
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