How To Change The Key Of A Song To Make It Fit Your Voice

Рет қаралды 20,439

Күн бұрын

Come ask me more questions in my live streams: / garylucasmusic
This video is aimed at beginner singers, especially guys who like to cover songs by female artists (something I have a lot of experience with). In this video, I share tips on how to change the key of a song to make it fit your voice.
Check out my music:
Spotify - spoti.fi/3ikCRG6
Apple Music - apple.co/3dNBBrc
Leave a comment if you found this video helpful and let me know what kind of tutorial video you would like next. What do you need help with when it comes to music? I'd love to help!
Gary

Пікірлер: 75

@kellykincaid 9 ай бұрын

I can't thank you enough for this video. I'm a female singer who has sung in cover bands for about 10 years, and have played with a lot of guitarists who have told me, "Just sing it like YOU!" when I told them I was having a hard time hitting certain notes because the original song was sung by a male. I've tried to explain that the human voice has a certain range of notes just like any instrument, but haven't found a way of demonstrating this as eloquently as you just did. The second problem I've been met with is, "We can lower/raise the song a half step to suit your voice?" - Some don't understand we could be talking a full 5-6 steps to reach a comfortable range which might totally change the difficulty of the song for the guitarist (tougher guitar fingerings) or even the sound of the song. The work you put into this is a great illustrator of how these changes can make or break a song and can save your (or your singer's) voice! Well done.

@LewieLeway 3 жыл бұрын

So simply put. Not trying to be clever, just natural. I'm surprised there are so few views and likes, but hey, no accounting for taste.

@Sveiksmobile 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for this! I was struggling to explain the concept of keys to a naive vocalist who has a lovely voice, but did not understand how we could adapt the key of songs to suit hos baritone range.

@robertcanedo7607 4 ай бұрын

after much confusion, with no clear help from even my brother, who has been playing for decades, I think you have made it so simple . As I move the capo up with the same shapes, the key changes, to fit the song. thank you!

@hrududu1690 3 жыл бұрын

Really clear and explained well, cheers!

@nozari28 3 жыл бұрын

Damn! This is so helpful! (And your other vids too!) Some women have low voice too you know xD So yeah, helpful not just for men! :P And also, most female singers seem to have really high voice, from "current" artists i know only of lana del rey than has a pretty low voice. It's a struggle sometimes haha

@dtadas Жыл бұрын

Wow! Amazing tutorial, exactly what I was looking for, as I was struggling with either a song being too high or too low for me. Cheers!

@rafaelhernandez5550 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much. Great tutorial .

@gajiwick 2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for this!!

@kaichenghu3826 2 жыл бұрын

really nice explanation!

@Gracebeliever077 Ай бұрын

Excellent information. Thanks.

@soccerrayray9 25 күн бұрын

Really great information. Thanks

@ostrichlives9363 3 жыл бұрын

Loving these more educational vids!

@cretaceostrapulazza5918 3 жыл бұрын

So using a capo doesnt mean that you necessarily have to sing higher the higher it is placed on the fret board

@GaryLucasMusic 3 жыл бұрын

That's correct. In many cases, you would but you don't have to. You may put the capo up but then use different types of chords, actually putting the song in a different key. Say, for example, that I'm singing a song in the key of C where the highest note is a G (a note I might find tricky to hit) I could put the capo up to the 5th fret, thereby making the highest note in the song a C. Instead of singing the song 5 steps higher, I'm actually going to sing it 7 steps lower (which is exactly the same as 5 steps higher - it's just that it's now an octave lower...if you follow me).

@cretaceostrapulazza5918 3 жыл бұрын

@@GaryLucasMusic tjanks for the answer ! 😄to be honest, i dont know anything about music theory, the only thing i know is that the way in singing my songs doesnt satisfy me at all. I feel like im not even singing and so they have no "hype". But If i try to lower the tuning of the guitar to sing higher it becomes too high to sing so im going crazy!! Do you think a capo could help me on this? Thanks man!

@GaryLucasMusic 3 жыл бұрын

@@cretaceostrapulazza5918 Absolutely! Feel free to drop by my live Twitch stream sometime and ask me questions in chat - I'd be happy to answer them there. www.twitch.tv/GaryBLucas

@michaelkrizmanich8010 3 ай бұрын

Even a combination of manually changing the key and maybe using the capo as sometimes playing too far up the fret board won't sound quite right. As a Bari-tenor (or lazy tenor) this video speaks to me as I also sing songs by female altos, and half the time feel like I'm singing in the basement and singing the exact octave can often times be too high

@geracine 3 ай бұрын

Excellent!!!!!!

@brotherjames2204 Ай бұрын

Very invaluable video. Great job making this simple! Thanks

@TheSHAR121 Ай бұрын

Thank you for this video. So much to learn about theory ❤

@laurab6180 Жыл бұрын

Hey Gary! Great explanation. I'm trying to cover a man's song and had to change it from D to Ab. I was scared that it was too much but now I'm relieved. Amazing video, thanks! ❤

@GaryLucasMusic Жыл бұрын

Really glad it helped, Laura!

@burntre1 4 ай бұрын

Cheers mate, enjoyed that 👍

@kimztayyy 4 ай бұрын

so helpful! Thank you. It is very important to sing in the right key for our voice so we can sound more impactful and showcase the fullest ability of our vocal while being comfortable.

@hhf9000 29 күн бұрын

Gary B this was really good. Thanks for the time and effort you put into recording it.

@Todrianth 7 ай бұрын

wow this video is genius, exactly what I was looking for, many years. I always suspected the samething u said but had nobody to verify by. Thx for the tips👍

@doreenhor4150 11 ай бұрын

Thanks Gary. Your teaching is clear and made me understand better now as I have always been struggling to sing using the original chords sang by male singer. And I kept thinking that I cannot sing well. God bless you.

@MarkCook-tl8po 3 ай бұрын

That was an excellent use of my time. Never knew how or why to use a capo before. Excellent presentation. Thank you. I like short and sweet and to the point.

@DN-wy3ud 24 күн бұрын

This is the most well explained video I've ever seen 😮

@lekaniko 25 күн бұрын

Thank you so much for such useful advice. A trick i found if a couple of notes are too high but vital (eg the chorus in Africa) is to drop to a lower harmony note and lower the volume- and use the guitar to emphasise the vital note instead. I'm just a backyarder still coming to terms with and exploring the nature of my voice, and it is so frustrating when you desperately want to sing something but no matter what key, there's a problem

@GaryLucasMusic 25 күн бұрын

That's a great method and allows you to stay in the original key of the song which i often necessary and preferable, especially in band situations.

@okkoi8737 3 жыл бұрын

you deserve my sub thanks

@eddiebaby22 26 күн бұрын

awesome tip

@markwelsh9068 4 ай бұрын

Very useful man. I was aware of this but sometimes you need someone to remind you and reinforce it (even if you're not into female artists - except Kate Bush). 🙂

@CurlyHostile 8 ай бұрын

Great videos for females with a lower vocal range too :X thanks

@bradleyvause430 2 жыл бұрын

Super useful thanks! I do this all the time where I write my songs softly in a quiet place and then get to an actually practice or performance where it just doesn't work. I have done the capo thing to find a more comfortable range but then when it gets to performing with a whole band instead of solo you can be putting the capo on the 5th or 6th fret, like you say, ukulele! Or even going to electric guitar with the full band you need just normal chords without the capo. I need to work on transposing keys using different chords and not the capo. Any advice?

@GaryLucasMusic 2 жыл бұрын

Becoming familiar with all the keys and which chords work well with other chords is important. Give yourself little tasks like - say for example you had written a song where the chord progression was Em C G D - and then you wanted to try it on Am - what would the chords be? It would be Am, F, C, G. And then try it starting on Bm- this would be Bm, G, D A. And try it with every key there is. For example, C#m would be...

@RajSingh-xn8qd 5 ай бұрын

Great video, very well explained. But how do you adjust the rest of the notes of a song after you adjust the first? Is it just keeping all other notes equidistant?

@GaryLucasMusic 5 ай бұрын

Yes that's right! In a way, it's like relative pitch.

@maxxawesome7412 26 күн бұрын

Do you have A particular key that’s always your vocal range’s best key or is it song dependent? How about playing high male voices like Dexter from the offspring? Helpful video, thanks!

@GaryLucasMusic 25 күн бұрын

It is song dependent. Yeah, The Offspring is a great example of a male vocalist whose style is singing high in his chest voice.

@samuelramirez1541 2 жыл бұрын

fast answer; use a capo but what if i need to drop the key down?

@georgeandersen1173 2 ай бұрын

Its a circle, go up

@georgeandersen1173 2 ай бұрын

Better answer is learn transposition

@GaryLucasMusic 23 күн бұрын

I've just posted a new video that deals with this exact question. Thanks for your comment!

@angelsix23 3 жыл бұрын

🎧🎶💗

@RoadToFame05 2 жыл бұрын

I don’t know why but I have always been more drawn to female artist as well, some of my favorite female artist are Billie Eilish, and Olivia Rodrigo.

@framestomind7548 Жыл бұрын

I got a question ... I am an actor learning to sing and play music now.. I been thinking to buy a chromatic harmonica to learn to hear myself bette and understand music better.. I wonder if my logic right here, - if I record a song on a chromatic harmonica in the key of Bb that I have found to be the key my own voice always lands in when relaxed and sing out on a natural breath will it then also be easier for me as a baritone to sing to my own recorded music from the chromatic harmonica set in Bb? do I understand this correctly about keys; ... that if I choose a limited instrument like a chromic harmonica or flute for example in the same key as ones natural range of ones voice it is a good thing to develop ones singing as well this way and that it also can complement my singing better than if I record songs on a harmonica in for example the key of C that will be far higher than my natural voice in Bb? hope you understand my logic :) love to learn more and more... what a great channel you have! I will follow ! Kind regards, C

@GaryLucasMusic 23 күн бұрын

Hello, sorry for the very late reply! From my understanding, you don't need to stick to the key of Bb. What you might be experiencing is feeling comfortable in the scale that the Bb harmonica allows you access to. But you could sing many of those notes in other keys and those notes would have a different 'flavour' to them. The note Bb is the root note when you're in the key of Bb and so sounds very resolved and like 'home. However, if you were singing a song in the key of F, that Bb note is the 4th and sounds unresolved, creating some lovely tension.

@framestomind7548 23 күн бұрын

@@GaryLucasMusic I see, that is interesting! I got so much to learn when it comes to singing a capella.. is all new to me, just memorrizing melodies I find really challanging.. while singing with someone who knows a song I find really easy.. not sure why I find it so easy to follow along pretty quickly over and over but as soon someone asks me to start the song myself I cannot even find the first tone or tones... maybe I am not so smart or something to remember it..