Module Three Lesson Three: The Singer's Toolbox: Mastering Key Selection for Song Interpretation
Go Deeper/Links:
For more about transposing, go to p.48 of The Jazz Singers Handbook.
For more about keys for singers and voice categories, check out this article:
"My mother always told me — even if a song has been done a thousand times, you can still bring something of your own to it. I'd like to think I did that."
— Etta James
Transcription
So how do we make a song our own?
INTERPRETATION
You hear a recording of a song. You've probably listened to it a million times already because it gives you that little dopamine rush we talked about in the first lesson of this module. You want more dopamine, so you decide - hey, this song is for me! I'm going to add it to my repertoire.
Now it's time to dig deeper into the architecture and origins of the tune.
What's the original key? What's the song form? Time signature? Tempo? Original melody? These are all great questions to ask when you're first learning a song.
Then there's the biography of a song. Who wrote it? What were the composers' original intentions? Sometimes they get lost in the interpretations of other singers.
One of the ways we learn songs is through listening to the recordings of other singers. It's not a bad way to learn; in fact, it's excellent ear training. But when you're digging deeper into the origins of songs in the American Songbook, it's important to find the original sheet music.
I've made some fascinating discoveries when I've done this. Melodies that I'd learned turned out to be interpretations. The original notes that the composer wrote are often more interesting because of the way they fit into the harmonic structure and the chords underneath.
Other times, the composer's original intentions have been bested. When you go back to the recording that inspired you to learn the song in the first place, you might gain a deeper appreciation for the artistry of another singer's interpretation.
No matter how you learned the song initially, taking a look at its architecture and origins can open up new ways of seeing it.
Sidenote: In pop music, often, the sheet music is written after the song is recorded, and it's written out by someone other than the person who wrote it. In our experience with Nu Shooz, sheet music is often wrong!
Make it Your Own
You've fallen in love with a song. Gotten to know it better by learning the original melody and the composer's intentions. Now it's time to make the song your own.
Choosing Keys
The first step is to figure out what key to sing it in.
[Little Rascals Video]
That was Alfalfa from the Little Rascals. He was known for singing right in the break of his voice. Was that a good key for him? Maybe for comedy. But not for other kinds of performance.
There are three things to consider when choosing a key for a song:
* How it fits your voice
* How it fits the style that you're singing in
* How it sounds when played on the instruments that are accompanying you
Before we get into how to figure out the best key to sing a song in, let's talk about why you'd want to change the key in the first place.
Some people say that it's cheating when you don't sing a song in its original key. Those people are seriously mistaken.
First of all, in the days when sheet music reigned supreme, publishers saved money by having the melody lie within the staff like this.
[MUSIC PAPER EXAMPLE]
Fewer notes between the staves meant less paper. So the song was cheaper to publish. Nowadays, songs aren't experienced first on paper, they're experienced as recordings.
If your favorite song was recorded by someone with a different type of voice than you, and you sing the song in the same key they did, you won't get the same intensity of feeling. Or worse, it'll be in a part of your range that just doesn't sound good, like poor Alfalfa singing "I'm In The Mood For Love."
We'll talk more about this at the end of the lesson when you'll learn how to transpose a song from a male to a female key or vice versa.
Most importantly, we have a lot of artistic license these days in how we interpret songs. Let's use it!
How It Fits Your Voice
Let's start with the most important thing, how the key fits your vocal range.
[ERASE BOARD]
First, you need to figure out what the highest note and lowest note are in the original key. You want to be able to sing both successfully and with feeling.
Next, take a look at the notes in the song that you're going to sing the most, also known as the tessitura.
In some songs, the melody might span the space between the low and high notes and even include them. In other songs, it might be grouped into different areas:
[ERASE BOARD]
For instance: Here. Here. Or here.
While it's essential to be able to successfully sing the low and high notes, you also want the tessitura to be in a sweet spot in your range.
So, you've figured out where the song fits in your range. Now you want to make sure you're singing in a key that fits the style and the emotion you want to convey.
Let me give you an example.
If I'm singing "Can't Help Lovin' That Man" from the musical Showboat, and I want to sing it in a musical theater style, I would sing it up here in this key:
[SING]
But if I'm singing it in a jazz style, that key won't work. I'll need to lower the key like this.
[SING]
So, those are a few considerations when picking keys:
Can I hit the notes?
Communicate what I want to communicate?
Sound authentic in the style I'm singing in?
There's something else to consider. And that's the personality of the key you're in. Keys have personalities too.
So what do I mean by that? Here's another example:
This is a song called World On A String. Here's what it sounds like in Bb.
[SING]
Here's what it sounds like in C.
[SING]
How would you describe the version in C? How was it different from the first version in Bb?
Brighter? Happier?
I can sing the song in both keys, but what do I want the listener to feel when I'm singing it? What do I want to feel when I'm singing it? And what context will I be singing it in?
If you're singing in a jazz club where people might be talking more than listening, or you're in front of a large band playing electronic instruments, the higher key might be a better choice. Remember, higher frequencies cut through background noise. They also cut through the instruments that are accompanying you that have frequencies that "mask" the frequencies in your voice.
In a concert setting, with acoustic instruments, and an audience that is focused entirely on the music, you have more options. If you want to create a certain kind of mood and need to sing the song in a lower key to achieve it, you'll still be heard.
When you have a more strenuous performance schedule or long nights with three or four sets in a performance, it's helpful to have tunes that don't require a lot of effort physically. Every song doesn't need to be a showcase for physical stamina and vocal gymnastics. If you have songs that are in keys that are easier for you, you'll save your voice for those more strenuous songs.
So which key should I choose to sing World On A String in — Bb or C? I can sing it successfully in either key, but in a jazz setting, I'd choose to sing it in the lower one. It's still vibrant enough to cut over background noise but won't tax my voice over a four-hour night of singing and talking.
There's another tip about keys that I got from a bass player friend of mine. Just like voices, instruments sound better in some keys than others. Stringed instruments, for example, sound best in the keys of the strings they have.
For a guitar, that would be E, A, D, G, or B. For violins: G, D, A, and E. And if a bass is playing an ostinato — one note over and over again — it will sound best when it's played on an open string, like E.
Good to know if you're having trouble deciding what key to sing a song in or if you're a songwriter writing for specific instruments.
Male and Female Keys
When Nu Shooz first began, we had a male lead singer. When he started missing gigs because of cocaine, I had to step up and sing his songs in keys that were not good for my voice. Some songs were impossible to sing. If I sang them in the original octave, they'd be too low in my range or too high. I'd end up pushing either way - in the lower part of my voice to be heard, in the upper part of my voice to reach the notes. It was a disaster. I was either inaudible or sounded like a cat whose tail was getting stepped on.
Later I learned how to transpose songs to keys that would fit my voice and make it sound like I was singing a song in its original key.
Here's how you do it. This works for men or women of all voice types.
[WHITE BOARD]
Here's the range of the typical tenor.
[Show range]
Here's the range of an alto (like me.)
Here's the range of the song sung by the tenor with the high and low notes on the edges and the tessitura here in the upper third.
When the tenor sings in this key, he's going to have a certain kind of intensity because of where these notes are in his range.
The alto can get this same kind of intensity if she sings the song in this key:
Does that make sense? Different keys, but the intensity remains the same in both voices.
Wrap-Up
So, there you have it. Everything you wanted to know about keys and more.
Now that you've figured out what key you're going to sing your song in, it's time to start making it your own with stylistic choices. See you in the next lesson!
