The Value of Transposing
- What Is Transposing
- Changing A Note For Comfort
- Singing A Song An Octave Above Or Below
Have you ever attempted to sing a song and found the key didn’t sit well with your voice?
If a song is outside of your range there are ways to sing around it.
If you haven’t already looked for a different key for transposing the song; you can focus on specific notes. Look for notes that give you the most trouble and change them.
Another way you can sing a song that is too low or too high is to sing it in an octave that’s lower or higher.
What Is Transposing
Transposing is when you take a song from its original key and change it.
If you have ever sung a song off the top of your head, and then listened to the original and found you were singing different notes.
You automatically changed the key of the song to fit your voice more comfortably.
You will want to transpose a song to a different key if: the notes are too low, too high, if the belting is (currently) outside of your range.
These are ways to mitigate the risk of vocal mistakes when you are singing a difficult song.
Let’s say you belt a A# but it’s really uncomfortable in your voice. Look for a version of the song that’s one semitone lower and try singing in that key.
You will find it to be a little bit easier to sing. Then you simply need to find the key that best fits your voice for the song.
Changing A Note For Comfort
Changing a note for comfort is entirely situational. This depends on the song. You never want to change too much in a cover of a song.
You would need to change a note if: it’s too low, too high or difficult to belt.
The difference between transposing is that you are not changing the key of the song.
You are keeping the same key and singing a different note to replace the note you have trouble with.
Harmonically this has to work, so you can’t just choose any note to sing. If you are familiar with the keys/scales on a piano this can be easier.
For example, in Adele’s Rolling In The Deep “There’s a fire starting in my heart”, on the word heart she is singing a B3.
Let’s say B3 was too low, you can harmonically change that one word to a F#4.
This way you are singing the higher melody making it easier on your voice.
Singing A Song An Octave Above Or Below
Singing a song an octave below or above can be beneficial if the song is entirely out of a comfortable range.
As a male singer who would sing a song in a female key. Unless he is a tenor, singing in the female key can be difficult.
The same applies to a woman singing a song by a guy, the low notes could be difficult to reach.
If you have the lower range as a male you can sing all the notes from a higher song an octave below and still be on the same key of the song.
For example, if the starting note of the song is a G4, sing a G3.
Changing the octave of a song you are singing does not mean you have to change the key.
Be weary, as not all songs changed an octave higher or lower are easy to sing.