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

[@kellykincaid]

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.

[@davidthedreamer0]

bruv, I have been struggling for a year with exactly this problem. I am most mad at KZbin for only recommending this video to me now. Thanks for an informative video.

[@GaryLucasMusic]

I'm so glad it could help!

[@muhumuzabenjamin7906]

This guy knows what he is doing. I appreciate your lessons.

[@LewieLeway]

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]

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]

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!

[@cretaceostrapulazza5918]

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

[@GaryLucasMusic]

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]

@@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]

@@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]

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

[@hrududu1690]

Really clear and explained well, cheers!

[@barbandrob1]

Great video for anyone confused about capo usage.

[@laurab6180]

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]

Really glad it helped, Laura!

[@dtadas]

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!

[@kimztayyy]

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.

[@nozari28]

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

[@CurlyHostile]

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

[@kaichenghu3826]

really nice explanation!

[@doreenhor4150]

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.

[@lekaniko]

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]

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.

[@Todrianth]

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👍

[@samuelramirez1541]

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

[@georgeandersen1173]

Its a circle, go up

[@georgeandersen1173]

Better answer is learn transposition

[@GaryLucasMusic]

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

[@Grim_The_Reaper]

This was actually mad helpful so just doing my part for the algorithm and whatnot. I've been playing guitar a long time. I have a pretty good singing voice, but guitar has definitely been more THE thing. I'm pretty decent at making shit up on guitar so it's kinda embarrassing to think I kinda knew this while also not knowing I knew this 😂 This has already immediately helped me SO much. Very happy that I clicked this video

[@GaryLucasMusic]

@@Grim_The_Reaper I'm so glad it could help! Thanks for giving the algorithm a kick!

[@ostrichlives9363]

Loving these more educational vids!

[@maudelongval4184]

Thats also awesome for female with a lower voice range.

[@rafaelhernandez5550]

Thank you very much. Great tutorial .

[@hhf9000]

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

[@HendrikEnsingMindLenses]

Gary This is a wonderful, helpful video. Thanks for sharing your talent and voice.

[@GaryLucasMusic]

It's a pleasure!

[@TheSHAR121]

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

[@thierrywlazlak4210]

I have a strange issue with one song i am trying to play. I need to move the capo beyond the nod of the guitar. So actually i need a guitar that is longer. A guitar that has an extra fret lol.

[@GaryLucasMusic]

Do you need for the guitar to sound that high pitched, or are you just trying to get to the right key? Because if it is the latter, remember that the 12th fret is the same as no capo at all, and the 13th fret would be capo 1st fret - if that makes sense?

[@thierrywlazlak4210]

Ill try to explain ... english is not my mothertongue. If i play it without a capo my voice cannot cope with the highest part of the song. So if i put a capo on the 1e fret it gets worse. I need a capo on the minus 1th fret so to say.

[@thierrywlazlak4210]

So i probably would have to put it on the 11th fret. But thats impossible. Maybe i need to use another tuning ?

[@thierrywlazlak4210]

This is the song i am wrestling with btw. You wont understand the text because it is dutch dialect. m.kzbin.info/www/bejne/bZjGh5mnfdpmqrM

[@thierrywlazlak4210]

The chords and lyrics tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/tab/katastroof/afscheid-chords-1153468

[@brotherjames2204]

Very invaluable video. Great job making this simple! Thanks

[@soccerrayray9]

Really great information. Thanks

[@markwelsh9068]

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). 🙂

[@DN-wy3ud]

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

[@bradleyvause430]

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]

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...

[@Gracebeliever077]

Excellent information. Thanks.

[@maxxawesome7412]

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]

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

[@jcalcgaming]

holy mother of pancakes you have saved me, thank you so much! I too am a guy that loves to sing songs by female artists and this helps immensely so thank you!!!

[@GaryLucasMusic]

@@jcalcgaming That's great, thank you!

[@SimplicityForGood]

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]

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.

[@SimplicityForGood]

@@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..

[@pointsofhonesty]

great explanation

[@gajiwick]

Thank you for this!!

[@RajSingh-xn8qd]

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]

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

[@burntre1]

Cheers mate, enjoyed that 👍

[@FlGHTFORLlBERTY]

What about if you need to go DOWN 3, 4, 5 or 6 half-steps?

[@GaryLucasMusic]

Then you can try using different chords from the standard version of the song. For example, if I go to sing "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" by Panic! At The Disco which is in the key of Am and I find that the song is too high for me, then like you, I'll want to lower it down by a few steps. I might find a chord chart on a website like Ultimate Guitar that says "no capo" and shows the chord progression starting on A minor and continuing in this key. In this case, I would think of what key might work for me. What is a few steps lower than Am? Could be Gm or Fm. Then think to yourself - "how can I get to Gm or Fm?" If these keys are too tricky to play using barre chords, you could try changing the chord progression so that, relative to the capo, you're now thinking in terms of Em. Put the capo on the first fret, and Em becomes Fm. Put the capo on the 3rd fret and Em becomes Gm. Ultimate Guitar has a very handy tool where you can Transpose the song by pressing the + or - button. Keep pressing it until the Am becomes Em and then try the capo in different positions. Hope that helps! I might make a video on this in the future.

[@GaryLucasMusic]

I just posted a video about this - thank you for the inspiration!

[@FlGHTFORLlBERTY]

@@GaryLucasMusic sweet! Going to watch now. Thanks 😃

[@geracine]

Excellent!!!!!!

[@okkoi8737]

you deserve my sub thanks

[@HeidiEk-su5wq]

I am looking for chords that fit my song. Any suggestions on how I shall find it. Any good apps? Don't know if it is okay asking this here, but I try. Am a bit frustrated

[@GaryLucasMusic]

It depends on what you have in your song so far. Do you already have a melody? If so, look at what notes you have - you are most likely already singing in a key of music. Once you have that key, you can look up what chords work well in that key.

[@eddiebaby22]

awesome tip

[@RoadToFame05]

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.

[@laurieforsythe8724]

I’m a female, but I struggle to find the right key for a lot of songs due to being a contralto. Most of the time songs are too high for me.

[@GaryLucasMusic]

If there's a song by a male singer you like, try singing in the original key of that song or taking it up by a couple of steps and see how that feels. With a sing by a female singer, experiment with trying the song 8 steps lower (or 4 higher - it'll be the same result for your voice) and see how that feels.

[@angelsix23]

🎧🎶💗

[@thefamilitchichannel1341]

Females do tend to be better at singing in my opinion from experience. But there are so very talented male singers out there.

[@jasperatymrochwite7275]

As i have evanescence tattooed on my arm 👁👄👁

[@danielwilliams5209]

GOMAD

[@anonamos8129]

I like to think I’m between keys lol 😂