Singers changing key: how much is too much?

[Bar Band Bassman]

For me the operating principle is this:
The song is the star.
Most of the time transposing rock and pop is not much of an issue unless it creates a situation where, for example, the vocal register goes lower and the bass register has to go higher. That messes with interval separation and can make the song sound cluttered, muddy, or lacking the energy of the original version. I recently had a gig where I had to transpose "Simply Irresistible" to "C". That bass line uses a pedaled "E" a lot. I didn't want want to transpose up gived the aforementioned register conflict so I fired up a 5 string to play it lower. Not being able to nail that open "E" took a lot away from the song. Some tunes are written with a specfic key in mind. Jazz standards - whatever key works. But always, the song should be the star!

 

[KDHBass76]

It really comes down to two things: (1) How badly do you want to do the song? (2) How does it sound in a different key?

I used to be a purist, but when I was 19 I could hit the Geddy Lee high E (not quite the Ian Gillan high G from "Highway Star"). Makes it easy to be a purist.

Still, some songs sound okay in a different key while others don't seem to work as well. The only way to find out is to try, though. As I've gotten older I've become willing to try entirely different arrangements of some songs, just to see what happens. A couple friends and I worked up a mid-tempo laid-back sort of Velvet Undergroundish take on "Sympathy for the Devil" (we left it in E, though) that actually sounded kind of neat.

 

[jefff100]

In my last band, we had a singer who could handle any thing we'd throw at him. Tremendous range and never an off note. It made things easier for everyone else.

At church, we have a revolving group of singers, none of them especially strong, and are constantly changing keys depending on who shows up that week.

You do what you gotta do. It's always easier for the players to change key than for a singer to sing out of their range, but some songs should just be off the table if they don't work.

Same here. At my current church we change the keys more frequently than I change my socks.
My former church we might deviate from the recording 1/2 a step or maybe even two full steps (generally down in the case of Tomlin) but once we settled on a key it pretty much stayed there.

 

[51PRI]

I've know of bands who would change song keys at shows depending on the condition of the singers voices

 

[dasherf17]

My dad told me this and it's not a hard and fast rule but he noted that most women that sing a male song will sometimes sing a fourth or fifth above the original key and the reverse in the case of a male singer covering a woman's song

Smart man...
My 2 cents worth, that crazy little thing called age creeps up and if the voice is not active those larynx muskles (yes, I meant it that way) loosen up and need the workout...practice practice practice...I was absolutely amazed at Tony Bennett when he "came bsck" before working with Lady Gaga...he had those high notes...
Steven Tyler, too on the Jeff Beck live Hollywood Bowl and Peter Green Tribute LPs...

 

[Blankandson]

Just a quick bit of advice for bass players who play regularly for different singers : Learn the Nashville Number System. Anyone can have it mastered in a few hours. I use it and if our BL says we need to change keys IT DOESN"T MATTER to me. The numbers never change. So for playing bass nothing changes. Everyone else has issues but not the bassist. I'll say it again. With the NNSystem, keys change but nothing changes for the bassist. It's always the same numbers. It's on the internet. Look it up, find some YouTube instructional videos, and get going. You're welcome. And, if you're concerned about finding music with the NNS, I have good news! Almost any song copywrited with either BMI or ASCAP will have every song known to man with sheet music in the number system. I used it almost weekely. And don't toss the sheets when the show is over. Put some use to a good hole punch and start you a book. I know several bassist who have several notebooks full of music with the NNS. Go and get'er done.

 

[Wasnex]

Just a quick bit of advice for bass players who play regularly for different singers : Learn the Nashville Number System. Anyone can have it mastered in a few hours. I use it and if our BL says we need to change keys IT DOESN"T MATTER to me. The numbers never change. So for playing bass nothing changes. Everyone else has issues but not the bassist. I'll say it again. With the NNSystem, keys change but nothing changes for the bassist. It's always the same numbers. It's on the internet. Look it up, find some YouTube instructional videos, and get going. You're welcome. And, if you're concerned about finding music with the NNS, I have good news! Almost any song copywrited with either BMI or ASCAP will have every song known to man with sheet music in the number system. I used it almost weekely. And don't toss the sheets when the show is over. Put some use to a good hole punch and start you a book. I know several bassist who have several notebooks full of music with the NNS. Go and get'er done.

I don't use NNS, but IMHO this is good advice...especially if you work with people who do use NNS.