Many a times you may find that a song is not comfortable for you to sing with the guitar. This kind of problem is witnessed by many of us because our vocal range may not contain the pitch range of the song. We are able to play the chords on the guitar but we may not be able to sing over the same chords at the same time. At times you will find that the chords are in a high pitch range than your voice and vice versa.
But the good news is that you can change the pitch of the chords to suit your voice. The process of changing the key of a song is called transposing. So you can transpose your song in any key from any key in order to fit your voice over it. There are two ways to do the same. One is the theoretical approach where you must have the idea about music theory. The other one is informal way but equally effective as the former one and its easier than the former too.
So let me go through the second method before describing the first one. Suppose you have a chord progression like Em-Bm-D-G. Now suppose you are not comfortable with these chords as these seem too low pitched for you. You want to change it to a higher pitch. So, obviously you will replace the first chord with another chord like Fm or Gm. Suppose you replace Em by Gm. Now obviously you have shifted to a different key and you need to change your other chords too. But what if you don't know the key to which you have shifted? Many a times, the first chord defines the key of the song but not always. Apply this method when you do not know the key. You shifted Em to Gm. Calculate the interval between E and G. It is three half steps or a minor third interval. So just shift the other chords by a minor third too. So Bm changes to Dm, D changes to F and G changes to A#. So your new progression turns out to be Gm-Dm-F-A#.
Now suppose you know the key and the chords in that key. Let us take the same progression as above (Em-Bm-D-G) in the key of G. So the progression corresponds to a vi-iii-V-I chord progression. Suppose you need to transpose it into the key of C. The chords in the C major scale are C(I), Dm(ii), Em(iii), F(IV), G(V), Am(vi), Bdim(vii).
So, vi-iii-V-I progression in the key of C corresponds to Am-Em-G-C.
These are the two ways to transpose keys to suit your voice and your playing comfort. This is a very simple concept yet very very useful concept as it can bring wonders to your playing. If you don't believe me, try playing one of the songs you use to play by transposing it to a different key. I bet you will feel a new mood in the same song.
But the good news is that you can change the pitch of the chords to suit your voice. The process of changing the key of a song is called transposing. So you can transpose your song in any key from any key in order to fit your voice over it. There are two ways to do the same. One is the theoretical approach where you must have the idea about music theory. The other one is informal way but equally effective as the former one and its easier than the former too.
So let me go through the second method before describing the first one. Suppose you have a chord progression like Em-Bm-D-G. Now suppose you are not comfortable with these chords as these seem too low pitched for you. You want to change it to a higher pitch. So, obviously you will replace the first chord with another chord like Fm or Gm. Suppose you replace Em by Gm. Now obviously you have shifted to a different key and you need to change your other chords too. But what if you don't know the key to which you have shifted? Many a times, the first chord defines the key of the song but not always. Apply this method when you do not know the key. You shifted Em to Gm. Calculate the interval between E and G. It is three half steps or a minor third interval. So just shift the other chords by a minor third too. So Bm changes to Dm, D changes to F and G changes to A#. So your new progression turns out to be Gm-Dm-F-A#.
Now suppose you know the key and the chords in that key. Let us take the same progression as above (Em-Bm-D-G) in the key of G. So the progression corresponds to a vi-iii-V-I chord progression. Suppose you need to transpose it into the key of C. The chords in the C major scale are C(I), Dm(ii), Em(iii), F(IV), G(V), Am(vi), Bdim(vii).
So, vi-iii-V-I progression in the key of C corresponds to Am-Em-G-C.
These are the two ways to transpose keys to suit your voice and your playing comfort. This is a very simple concept yet very very useful concept as it can bring wonders to your playing. If you don't believe me, try playing one of the songs you use to play by transposing it to a different key. I bet you will feel a new mood in the same song.
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