What Is Officially The Lowest Key In Music
Guitar1969
Aug 6 2008, 08:16 PM
GMC:er
Posts: 346
Joined: 30-October 06
From: Southern California
Andrew:
I've asked this same question to a few musicians and never have received an answer that sounds right.

what is the proper order of music keys from low to high in a general musical context(Or in vocal context). Now I know that the keys just repeat over and over , so there really is no first or last, but when working with a singer that can't sign a song in the original key it was written in, I have had to transpose the song to a different key.

I know for a 6 string guitar the lowest possible note is E, and in open positions(lowest octave)an E chord is lowest, but I have had singers say to me to change a key to something higher, which doesn't seem higher to me - I had one tell me that the key of D is higher than the key of E overall. I understand that it can be relative to the instrument(Such as a piano has a different lowest note), but what is the general order of keys when it comes to keys and singers.

Thanks,

Michael

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------
"Three Chords & The Truth . . ."
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Storm Linnebjerg
Aug 6 2008, 09:49 PM
Learning Rock Star
Posts: 7.676
Joined: 14-June 08
From: Odense, Denmark
C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B...

Is the line of notes, as far as I know.

That means that D would be lower than E, no?

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------

Check out my TikTok! - or check out my GMC video comments on YouTube
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Guitar1969
Aug 7 2008, 12:43 AM
GMC:er
Posts: 346
Joined: 30-October 06
From: Southern California
QUOTE (Caelumamittendum @ Aug 6 2008, 01:49 PM) *
C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B...

Is the line of notes, as far as I know.

That means that D would be lower than E, no?



But for a singer - C is not the lowest - C is considered middle of the road, is it not

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------
"Three Chords & The Truth . . ."
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Storm Linnebjerg
Aug 7 2008, 12:46 AM
Learning Rock Star
Posts: 7.676
Joined: 14-June 08
From: Odense, Denmark
QUOTE (Guitar1969 @ Aug 7 2008, 01:43 AM) *
But for a singer - C is not the lowest - C is considered middle of the road, is it not


Well, that depends, you could always play it 12 semitones lower - that would make it in the key of C but just 1 octave lower than first.

Playing it 2 semitones above C would make it in D. But also playing it 10 octaves below would also make it D.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------

Check out my TikTok! - or check out my GMC video comments on YouTube
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Guitar1969
Aug 8 2008, 07:08 PM
GMC:er
Posts: 346
Joined: 30-October 06
From: Southern California
QUOTE (Caelumamittendum @ Aug 6 2008, 04:46 PM) *
Well, that depends, you could always play it 12 semitones lower - that would make it in the key of C but just 1 octave lower than first.

Playing it 2 semitones above C would make it in D. But also playing it 10 octaves below would also make it D.


Exactly my problem!

Now I know there are considerastions for singers as to the range of notes they can sing - Some songs have a wider range than others, maybe that is what dictates it .

Curious what Andrew knows about this matter

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------
"Three Chords & The Truth . . ."
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
fatb0t
Aug 8 2008, 07:14 PM
GMC:er
Posts: 1.202
Joined: 25-November 07
There is no answer...Octaves go up infinity and down infinity.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Andrew Cockburn
Aug 9 2008, 02:51 PM
Moderation Policy Director
Posts: 10.459
Joined: 6-February 07
From: CT, USA
Hi there - sorry I took a while to get to this, I have been traveling on business ...

So, my answer is that it depends on the singer!

Every singer has a range of notes, and the aim here is to fit the song into the singers useful range. The way this is usually done is to find the highest note in the song and match it to te highest note the singer can comfortably sing, and then figure out the key from that. Some people will then take it up a semitone or even a tone higher on the theory that stretching the singer just a little gives a better performance.

From a guitarists point of view, this can suck badly - you come up with a killer riff with a cool little open chord here that resonates nicely, then you have top move it up 5 frets for the singer - your open chord no longer works and the riff sounds horrible now, even if you use a capo. But, at the end of it all, the singer carries the song so we have to give in to them ...

Now, to answer your question in exact theory terms - as others have said, there is no highest or lowest in absolute terms, the keys go on forever, and if you jump up say a 5th, that is exactly the same as jumping down a 4th, just different octaves. So in fact, you have a choice too - if the singer wants to go up, you can accommodate that by going up OR down, to find a set of chords or riffs that sounds best on the guitar!

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------
Check out my Instructor profile
Live long and prosper ...

My Stuff:

Electric Guitars : Ibanez Jem7v, Line6 Variax 700, Fender Plus Strat with 57/62 Pickups, Line6 Variax 705 Bass
Acoustic Guitars : Taylor 816ce, Martin D-15, Line6 Variax Acoustic 300 Nylon
Effects : Line6 Helix, Keeley Modded Boss DS1, Keeley Modded Boss BD2, Keeley 4 knob compressor, Keeley OxBlood
Amps : Epiphone Valve Jnr & Head, Cockburn A.C.1, Cockburn A.C.2, Blackstar Club 50 Head & 4x12 Cab
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Pizzoaro
Nov 27 2008, 08:54 AM
GMC:er
Posts: 460
Joined: 23-December 07
From: Tonsberg Norway
In music theres no such thing as a lowest or highest note. But, there can be notes which i will say is so high or low that its impossible for humans to hear it. For example "dogflutes". U blow in it, but u cant hear a single thing. But the dog can hear it ... tongue.gif tongue.gif tongue.gif

So what im saying is.. U cant really define the lowest or highest note in music.. tongue.gif

QUOTE
I know for a 6 string guitar the lowest possible note is E


Nonononono ! tongue.gif
It aaalll depends on the tuning. My band plays in drop c tuning. There C is the lowest note were playing.
And the thicker the strings, the lower u can tune the guitar without the strings getting all flappy...

smile.gif Tell me if i got ur Q wrong... tongue.gif

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


This post has been edited by Pizzoaro: Nov 27 2008, 08:57 AM


--------------------
"Never give up!"



My Youtube

Check out pictures of my band here ---> Bandpictures! Remember to leave a comment!
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
MickeM
Nov 27 2008, 09:11 AM
Born of NWOBHM, Moderation Team Leader
Posts: 8.562
Joined: 9-January 07
From: Stockholm, Sweden
On a piano the lowest key is to the far left tongue.gif

Hope that helps rolleyes.gif

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Dejan Farkas
Nov 27 2008, 09:37 AM
Instructor
Posts: 3.035
Joined: 27-November 07
From: Sarajevo, Bosnia
QUOTE (MickeM @ Nov 27 2008, 09:11 AM) *
On a piano the lowest key is to the far left tongue.gif


That's A0 that has a frequency of 27.5 Hz, slightly above the lowest frequency a human can hear (20 Hz), so we can take it as a reference, and if we take the alphabet order of A B C D E F G, we can take the A as a starting note smile.gif

Another thing, if we speak about guitar, the standard tuning tunes lower strings to E, A and D. The most common chord progression is I, IV, V. If we start with A we have A, D, E.. so all lower open strings. smile.gif

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post
Jerry Arcidiacon...
Nov 27 2008, 09:45 AM
Instructor
Posts: 3.220
Joined: 2-August 07
From: Turin, Italy
QUOTE (MickeM @ Nov 27 2008, 09:11 AM) *
On a piano the lowest key is to the far left tongue.gif


Good answer... biggrin.gif biggrin.gif

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net


Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!


--------------------

::: Main Gear :::

Guitars: Washburn N4 Vintage | Washburn N2 | Washburn WI67Pro | Washburn WG-587 | Washburn EA20B
Amps: Laney GH50L (head) | Laney GS410 & GS212IE (cabinets) | Rocktron PROGAP Ultra (rack preamp) | Rocktron Velocity 150 (power amp) | Marshall VS230 (combo)
FXs: Rocktron Intellifex + custom pedalboard (check my video demo)
Other: Shredneck | Intellitouch PT10 tuner
Picks: Esseti Picks

Software & Recording Gear: Cubase 4 | Overloud TH1 | Mackie Onyx 400F | EZdrummer | Korg Pandora PX4D


-------------------------------------------------------

myspace.com/jerryarcidiacono

Check out my video lessons and instructor board!
Go to the top of the page
 
+Quote Post

Reply to this topicStart new topic
1 User(s) are reading this topic (1 Guests and 0 Anonymous Users)
0 Members:

 




RSS Lo-Fi Version Time is now: 19th March 2024 - 04:53 AM