Transposition: Finding the Right Key for You Song
Finding ‘Your Key’
There is a misconception that each singer will have one key that is ‘theirs’ and will work for every song that they sing. This is not true. For any song, the key that works best for you will be entirely dependent on how the melody of that song fits within your range. Sometimes, when covering a song, the original key will work perfectly for you! If so, great! Often though, it may be a bit too high, or too low, in which case you can transpose the song, which means to make the song higher or lower by changing the key!
This blog is all about helping you A) Learn what a key is and what it means to transpose from one key to another, and B) Give you the tools and resources to transpose your songs. If you are already comfortable with the theory behind keys, key signatures, and the definition of transposition, you can skip ahead to “How to Find Your Key and Transpose Songs”. (Just scroll down to the end!)
What are the 12 Keys and what are Key Signatures?
There are 12 keys in western music. A key is a certain pattern of pitches that work together within a song. Most songs are in a single key, which means that some pitches will work and be consonant – which means they sound pleasing to the ear – and some will be dissonant – which means they will be not pleasing to the ear.
Think of the key as the setting of your song. The key of song will settle you into place and lock you into the moment.
For example, let’s say Sarah wants to sing Make Your Feel My Love, as performed by Adele (Originally by Bob Dylan). Adele sings this song in the Key of Bb, but Sarah finds the original key uncomfortably high in her chest voice – and she really wants to perform it in her chest voice, just like Adele does. She needs to find “her key” for this song. She knows that she wants to song to be a bit lower, but she doesn’t know how to facilitate that! (hint: read on to find out how!)
Every song you sing is in a certain key. If you understand the basics of the keys, key signatures as well as your own range, you can transpose any song into a key that best suits your range!
Here is a very simplified explanation of the 12 major keys to help you understand how you can transpose songs into keys that work for you:
NOTE NAMES
To understand the major keys and their key signatures, it’s important to first understand note names. There are 12 unique notes in western music that repeat over and over. We use the first seven letters of the alphabet to represent these notes: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. On the piano, these are represented by the white notes.
The black notes are called either sharp (#) or flat (b) based on the closest white note.
Note Names
TONES & SEMITONES
Tones and semitones are types of intervals. Intervals represent the distance between to notes. They are the building blocks of music.
Semitones, sometimes called half steps or minor 2nds, are the smallest intervals in western music. For example, going from C to C# or going from E to F!:
Semitones
Tones, sometimes called full/whole steps or major 2nds, are made up of 2 semitones. For example going from C to D or from E to F#! :
Tones (Whole Tones)
ENHARMIC NOTES
Enharmonic notes share two note names on one temperament or pitch. For example, the black notes on the keyboard each have two names. Both are correct, they just come at the note from different places. In the case of the note on the left side of the cluster of 3 black notes, you can refer to it as F# (sharp = up a semitone from F) or Gb (flat = down a semitone from G).
THE MAJOR SCALES, TONIC, ACCDIDENTALS and KEY SIGNATURES
Each major key can be understood through its major scale. A major scale is a pattern of notes starting and ending on the same note name (i.e. C to C, C# to C#, D to D or D# to D#...etc) This pattern contains all the notes within a key!
The note that a major scale starts on is called the tonic. Each unique note on the keyboard can act as a tonic. There are 12 unique notes, therefore 12 major scales, therefore 12 keys!
There are 7 unique notes in each major scale. In classical pedagogy, one might learn something called solfège to learn the degrees of the major scale. In solfège, 1=do, 2=re, 3=me, 4=fa, 5=so, 6=la, 7=ti and then 8= do again, but now up one octave. For our purposes, we’re going to simply use numbers, 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, and 8 (8 is 1 again up the octave.
The major scale always appears in the same order of tones and semitones, no matter which tonic you’re starting on. Let’s take a generic major scale, no particular key, and dissect it:
1 – Tone – 2 – Tone – 3 – Semitone – 4 – Tone – 5 – Tone – 6 – Tone – 7 – Semitone – 8
Let’s look at this pattern on a keyboard, starting on C. C is 1, D is 2, E is 3…etc.
Since the tonic of this major scale is C, we are in the key of C major.
Some keys have accidentals. Accidentals are sharp notes (#) or flat notes (b), often represented by black notes, that will be consistent in that key. This configuration of natural notes and accidental notes is called a key signature.
In the key of C, There are 0 sharps or flats. Let’s choose a new tonic, how about F!
The tonic is F, there is one accidental which is Bb. Therefore, the key signature for F is one accidental: Bb!
In written music, the key signature is often represented at the beginning of a song like this:
Note that the accidental is called Bb in this case and not A#. This is because in each major key, you should be able to say each letter name once. If we called the accidental A#, the pattern of notes would be F-G-A-A#-C-D-E-F, which is messy! So instead the pattern should look like this: F-G-A-Bb-C-D-E-F.
DIATONIC AND NON – DIATONIC MUSIC
In diatonic (Dia = in the. Tonic = key) music, every note you hear within the context of a song, will be within the key. In the key of C, diatonic songs would only ever use the notes C, D, E, F, G, A and B. In the key of F, diatonic songs would only ever use the notes F, G, A, Bb, C, D and F.
Often, however, musicians take advantage of consonant (or sometimes dissonant) non-diatonic harmony or melodies within their songs, meaning they may deviate from the pattern. This is more advanced and while we won’t be covering how to use non-diatonic notes in music, I will say that if you are a song writer, it’s a really great thing to learn about! The rules of diatonic harmony are more fun to break when you know what they are!
MINOR KEYS
Each major key has a relative minor key. Now, you could learn all of the minor scales (a different pattern of tones and semitones) to understand each minor key, but I have a shortcut to simplify this concept! That shortcut is called relative keys.
Relative major and minor keys share the same key signature but have different tonics. Minor keys tend to sound more melancholy than major keys. For example, in the key of C major, if you play a scale starting on C going up to C as we’ve already done, (C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C) this will sound quite happy. The relative minor of C is A. This means you’ll play all the same notes but in a different order. If you play a scale starting on A going up to A (A-B-C-D-E-F-G-A), this will sound sadder.
A simple trick for finding a major key’s relative minor is by counting up to the 6th note. For example, in C major, the 6th note is A. This means the relative minor, that shares the key signature of no #s or bs, is A Minor.
In F major, the 6th note is D. This means the relative minor, that shares the key signature of one b: Bb, is D Minor.
You can use this method to determine each minor key, or you can take a glance at the circle of fifths below, in which I have laid out all of the major keys signatures and their relative minor keys.
THE CIRCLE OF FIFTHS
If this all sounds a bit complicated, don’t worry, you’re not alone. Understanding the keys, let alone memorizing all of the key signatures, takes musicians years to master! What I want for you to understand is that keys, the notes you sing, and all of the notes, played by each instrument in all of your favorite songs, are all connected. It’s all connected by 12 notes, narrowed down to 7 for any given song.
I want for you to have the language to speak with other musicians to make sure that you sing in the right key for you! I want to empower you to make changes when you need them and to communicate with confidence in a musical situation! All that being said, you do not need to memorize any theory at all to be a good singer! This is why I’m providing you with a cheat sheet!
Below is the circle of fifths. This common music theory tool is used to help musicians learn and remember the keys as well as a bunch of other cool things that we won’t be covering in this blog, like how to re-harmonize chord progressions and understand how baselines are used and constructed!
For our purposes, we’re using the circle of 5ths as a tool to help us remember the key signatures for each major and minor key.
The keys are arranged in a circle in the order of how many accidentals they have. (e.g. starting at the top in C you have 0 accidentals, going clockwise you’ve got 1#, the 2#s then 3#s…etc. Going counterclockwise you’ve got 1b, the 2bs, then 3bs…etc.
It is called the circle of 5ths because this orders the keys in intervals of 5ths. C to G is a 5th, G to D is a 5th, D to A is a 5th…etc.
ENHARMONIC KEYS
Db/C#, Eb/D#, Gb/F#, Ab/G#, Bb/A#...even Cb/B or Fb/E are all enharmonic notes. They also represent enharmonic keys! Meaning you could call the major key whose root is the black key on the left of the 3 clustered black notes F# or Gb. Both of these keys would have 6 accidentals, so it’s up to the arranger which way to express this key, it doesn’t make a difference.
Sometimes however it makes sense to choose one enharmonic key over the other when selecting a key. Db/C# are enharmonic keys for example, however, if the tonic is Db the key has 5 flats. If the tonic is C# (again, the same thing) it now has 7 sharps…that’s too many sharps to have to think about! So, we default to the one with fewer accidentals.
How to find your key and transpose songs
Now that you know what makes a key and its key signature, it’s time to learn how to transpose. This skill comes in handy when you want to sing a song slightly higher or lower than the original artist performed it. Consider Sarah, who wanted to sign Make You Feel My Love a little bit lower than the key Adele performed it in. Here is a step-by-step look at how to find the right key for the song you’re singing.
STEP 1 – Establish if you need to transpose or not: You may already be singing in a key that works for you! Don’t fix it if it’s not broken! Sarah knows the original key is Bb and that it’s just a little too high for her.
STEP 2 – If transposition is needed, establish which parts of the song are too high or too low and that the full song is transposable for you: For example, if you want to transpose a song lower, make sure the lowest parts of the song have some wiggle room in your range, or else you run the risk of transposing to a key that’s too low! If it’s a very range-y song, keep in mind, when you transpose you transpose the full song, not just sections. There are no parts of Make You Feel My Love in the original key that feels too low, or even close to too low for Sarah, she feels like she has the wiggle room to transpose down without bumping into any issues.
STEP 3 – If the full song is transposable, find the most extreme pitch in the song and decide how you want to sing it. This could be an extremely high pitch, for which you want to transpose down, or an extremely low pitch, for which you want to transpose up. The highest pitch in Make You Feel My Love is in the bridge. The lyric here is “The storms are raging on the rolling sea”. The highest pitch in the original key is a Bb. Sarah wants to do this in a full chest belt.
STEP 4 – Determine your range within the song. Get to know your range and your registers to master this step. Sarah wants to be able to belt the bridge of Make You Feel My Love Sarah’s sweet spot is slightly lower than Adele’s. She can belt comfortably up to an A. So, she’ll want to transpose the song so that the highest belted note is no higher than an A.
STEP 5 – Figure out the distance between your desired extreme pitch and the original extreme pitch AS WELL AS the direction on transposition. Count out how many semitones there are between the original and the desired extreme pitch. This will also represent the distance between the old and new keys. For Sarah, the distance between an A (her highest belt note) and a Bb (The highest belt note in the original key) is one semitone. Since Sarah wants the song to be lower, the transposition will be down a 1 semitone, often expressed simply as -1. (The interval is called a minor 2nd)
STEP 6 – Figure out the new key: Just shift the old tonic up or down the same amount of semitones you determined in step 5. For Sarah, a semitone down from Bb is A! The new key is A!
STEP 7 – (Only if notating music or self-accompanying) Take note of the new key and its accidentals: This is important if you are self-accompanying or writing out new sheet music in the new key. For Sarah, the original key of Bb had 2 flats: Bb and Eb. Her new key of A has 3 sharps, F#, C#, and G#. Take a glance at the circle of fifths to help familiarize yourself with the new key!
STEP 8 – (Only if notating music) Transpose the melody: This is only required if you’re actually writing out the notes on musical staff paper. Make sure that each original pitch is shifted by the same interval as in steps 5 and 6! For Sarah, this means moving each pitch exactly 1 semitone lower.
STEP 9 – (Only if notating music) Transpose the chords: This only applies if you're notating the music for guitar, bass, or keyboard. This is usually done in jazz styles but is often seen in pop/rock/soul musicians as well. Make sure that each original chord is shifted by the same interval as in steps 5 and 6! In Sarah’s case, the chords for the bridge in the original key were Bb, F, Ab, Eb…etc. She needs to transpose each chord 1 semitone lower making them A, E, G, D. She would do this for the rest of the song.
CHANGING THE KEY!
Now comes the fun part! Actually changing the key! Depending on who you’re working with and how you’ve arranged your song, you’ll express the key change either by finding or making a new score, sheet music, a lead sheet, a chords sheet, tabs, or a new track in the new key.
Score: Fully notated sheet music for multiple instruments.
Sheet Music: Usually includes the melody, lyrics, and a written part for piano.
Lead Sheets: A kind of bare-bones sheet music with just the form and chords that often, but not always, includes a melody and lyrics.
Chord Sheets: Lyrics with chord names above corresponding lyrics.
Tabs: Notated music for guitarists and bassists.
Instrumental Tracks: A karaoke or recorded accompaniment
ONLINE RESOURCES
Transposing by hand – meaning transpose a song’s arrangement, chords, and/or melody all on your own – is an amazing skill to have. But if you’re new to this, or simply don’t have the time, don’t worry! The internet’s got your back!
A simple google can open up a huge world of affordable sheet music, lead sheets, and karaoke tracks that are all transposable with just a click of a button. All you need to know is what key you want to be singing in! Here are some of my favorite resources.
Full Scores / Sheet Music Online Resources
Lead Sheets Online Resources
(App) Sribd – audiobooks and ebooks: Purchase any volume of Hal Leonard’s “The Real Vocal Book.
Chords Sheets / Tabs Online Resources
(App) Ultimate Guitar: Chords and Tabs
Online Resources to Find Karaoke Tracks
www.youtube.com
Apple Music, Spotify, GooglePlay
(App) Singa
(App) Sing2Music
Apps and Software to Transpose Karaoke Tracks
(App) TimePitch
(App) SpeedPitch
(Software) Karaoke Pitch Changer
Note: Many online transposing apps and apps and websites like TimePitch, Ultimate Guitar or www.musicnotes.com will only ask how many semitones you want the song to be transposed up or down. So, you won’t actually need to figure out the new key, just the difference in semitones between the original key and the desired key.
IF YOUR SELF-ACCOMPANIED
If you’re self-accompanying on piano, you’ll likely already have some knowledge as to how to do this.
If you read music off the page on the grand staff, you can usually purchase sheet music with piano accompaniment of sheet music online and easily change the key using the in-app software.
If you prefer lead sheets over sheet music, there are websites that offer lead in various keys, with easy transposition options!
Perhaps you prefer to look at chord sheets! Sites like Ultimate Guitar are wonderful for simple chord sheets with lyrics that are easily transposable with the click of a button, But beware, some of these sites are crowd-sourced, meaning anyone can upload chords for songs, they are often incorrect!
You may be playing guitar and using a capo – which can change the key you’re playing in, without you having to think about a new key or new chords. If this is the case, you may have to explore Steps 1 through 9 if you ever find yourself playing with other instrumentalists, so you’re all on the same page. I can’t tell you how many awkward interactions in musical rehearsals are the result of one person playing with a capo when the other is not!
IF YOU HAVE AN ACCOMPANIST(S)
If you a someone to play piano or guitar for you, it’s likely that you’ve got some report and you’ve already worked out a system of choosing keys that work for both or all of you. You may even have a full band!
First of all, don’t let peer pressure stop you from changing the key of a song! I often hear about singers who sing in awkward keys, just because they’re too nervous to ask their bandmates to change keys. Using steps 1-7,8 or 9 you can choose a new key and confidently direct them to it!
If you’re lucky enough to play with a full band with strings, a horn section or a choir, you should find or create a full score in the new key.
If you’re playing with a classically trained pianist who read off the grand staff, you will need the full notated sheet music for the new key.
Jazz musicians prefer lead sheets. You can purchase any volume of Hal Leonard’s “The Real Vocal Book” which are all caulk full of classic jazz, rock and pop lead sheets. If you purchase the online version, you can also transpose easily!
Pop musicians are usually content to see a lyric sheet with the guitar chords lined up over the lyrics paired with a recording of the original song for reference.
IF YOU’RE SINGING TO A TRACK
If you’re singing to a track, you’re either singing along with the original artist, or you’ve found an instrumental or karaoke version that works for you! In either case, there are many resources for changing the key of these tracks to transpose to your preferred key!
To transpose a track, there are apps and different types of software that are easy to use. You simply upload an Mp3 of the song to app and choose how many semitones you want to transpose, either up or down!
It’s important to consider that the pitch of a track and its tempo are inextricably linked. If you were to slow the tempo of a record, it would naturally lower in pitch. This is not always the desired effect, make sure that you choose an app or a software that can adjust pitch and tempo independently of each other. Some will do this automatically for you, others will not.
