Changing the key in a standard tune

[tnb]

The hardest thing I do in music is following the form of a front person that doesn't "know" the song in the first place. It happens. The song has already started, the (usually) singer kind knows the tune, there is usually at least one key change involved once the singer realizes that he doesn't know the song that well.

 

The audience doesn't care about any of this. All they know is that "the band sucks" if you aren't able to pull it off. And there's always at least one player in the audience thinking "we didn't suck that badly when xxx sat in with us". Nothing travels faster than bad news, folks.

 

Transposing on the fly is not an optional skill. The sooner you start, the easier it gets, the more opportunities are presented to you.

[John W.]

I think of tunes like blues, I Got Rhythm , standards such as Autumn Leaves, Green Dolphin Street, Body and Soul as a series of relationships, much like the Nashville number system. I can then play them in any key with no problem. Instrumentalists and vocalists alike like to change keys and deviate from the Real(close)Book changes quite often--vocalists for obvious reasons--and instrumentalists because sometimes there are two "original" or common practice keys for a tune, for instance G (e minor) and B flat (g minor) for Autunm Leaves, C and E flat for On Green Dolphin St, d minor and a minor for Summertime, or a tune that was standardized by a horn player may be in a key that doesn't "lay" as well for a guitarist or a pianist. Thinking this way of a through-composed tune like Wayne Shorter's "Ana Maria" is a different matter for me--it's all I can do the remember it in Wayne's key.

[John W.]

Whoops, only meant to send one.

[John50]

Originally posted by Vistajohn:

Another musician would probably know but I don't paticularly play for you guys, in fact you guys make me a little nervous. Rather I try and entertain as best I can with the ability I have. And I don't think I'm alone. But, I bow to those of you who are the great musicians, you are the inspiration for us and a pleasure to watch and listen. Now, back to practicing those key changes.

Well said

[John50]

Originally posted by Dave Brown:

Try playing a non-C instrument for a while and you get used to doing this.

The alto sax players were the ones I felt really bad for. [/QB]

Similar situation here. I learnt trombone for brass band, and unfortunately the british brass band style music is written in treble clef for trombone (& tubas) as if the trombone is a transposing B flat instrument. Therefore to play a C you do it with the slide closed, but it is actually sounding a B flat (concert pitch) That was okay till I started playing musical theatre orchestras, and a local big band (think Glen Miller type band) that started up. All the trombone music was in bass clef FOR C trombone. I learnt then that the brass band style of teaching is (strictly speaking) incorrect, and that the closed position note we are all taught as a "C" should have been taught as a "B flat" (not a problem if you were only ever intending to play in brass bands) A bit late to change then, as I'd been playing 5 or 6 years. (I know one guy who relearnt, but it was a nightmare. Imagine relearning your fret board notes 2 positions different to what you have already learnt!!) Because I learnt piano at a young age, I could read bass clef. However, I found it almost impossible to look at the music and think one tone up unless it was very slow minums! Instead I adopted an unusual approach. I treated the bass clef as treble clef, and transposed it down a fifth, adding I think (a little rusty here, have not done much for last 3 years) 2 flats or subtracting 2 sharps from the key signature. Had to really watch the accidentals; some naturals become sharps, others stayed naturals, some flats become naturals, etc!!

For a start I had to pencil in dots on the faster stuff where the notes actually were, but after only a couple of years transposing a fifth (plus watching those accidentials) it started to become second nature.

It may sound hard, but for me and the way my brain works, i found transposing a fifth a whole lot easier to do than transposing just one tone.

Certainly now after 25 years, it is completely and totally automatic!

 

More recently, for 3 or 4 years having played EE flat tuba, a handy trick there is when reading off the bass clef of a piano part © is to play the actual (bass clef) notes as if they are treble clef, and there you are, it is the correct key and notes!! You just have to add 3 flats, or subtract 3 sharps, if I remember correctly. The accidentals, again, do some funny tricks also, that you have to adjust for. But it is handy, and as a brass band player, have played tuba, which (strangely) for brass bands the music is written (2 octaves I think) higher than it sounds in the treble clef!!

Confused yet??!!

Just thought I'd share that.

I guess the point here is that sometimes, even with music, an unusual approach to a problem does work.

[TimR]

Arn't Tubas great, The music I see can be C,Eb or Bb Treble clef or bass clef.

 

That trick for EE to C also works for a few key changes. Also you can try to imagine an extra line (or more) above or below the stave. In particular I find it works well when changing from treble to bass clef.

[John50]

I've tried the imagining the extra line thing, but it made my brain hurt, really badly!! However the EE tuba is somewhat easier to play, lighter, and I've always loved the sweet sounds of the EE tuba.

 

I really prefer the EE tuba now. Do you play tuba as well Tim?

[John50]

TimR

Sorry I re read your message, and I you do play tuba. What sort of music / groups do you play with?