Karaoke Forums

I'm sure there must be some musicians out there who can tell me, that when i bring songs up with Soundchoice and Music maestro which shows what keys they are in. If they think that they are correct and that is the original key that the artist sang it in. I'm asking this because i want to get up to sing at a free and easy with a keyboard player and once i tell him what song i want to sing,the first thing he will ask me is what key do i sing it in.

I don't think it can allways be right because if i take an example of Elvis's American Trilogy one is i think in G, and the other is in D. Yet they both sound in the same key to me. Thank you.

I am sure it can't always be right. I know DK in particular will go up or down a half-step on certain songs that are out of reach for most singers. (They go down a half-step on quite a few and up a half-step on at least Folsom Prison Blues.)

But I sing hundreds of songs, and other than those I have not seen one not in the original artists key. I have occasionally gotten a complaint from a good singer (complaints from bad singers are usually wrong) and it has always been a DK track.

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

Are you going to practice with this Keyboard player beforehand? If so, then the Key will not be an issue. If not, then don't worry about the Key, just choose songs that you are most familiar with (possibly even sang before), and just have the Keyboard play it at its normal key.

Cueball, thanks for your reply. First there would be no practice, and secondly what i'm saying is if i have a certain song that i know all the words to and i can sing it in the same key as the karaoke song. That still dosen't help me tell the keyboard player what key its in.

Now if every song was in the original key what the artist sang in, that would be o/k as long as he knew the song, i could just say copy key, but if the karaoke version isn't the same key as the artist sang it in, then i think there would be a problem. The other allternitive is the keyboard player will say just sing a little bit of the tune so he can find the key, but iv'e found this dosen't allways work. Thanks anyway.

The majority of karaoke songs are recorded in the original key as the singer, soundchoice tells you in the opening screen, it's only really DK that you'll have to look out for. A general rule of thumb is the first chord played with be the key it's recorded in. If it was me I'd search the guitar tabs on your favourite songs and make a note of what key it was recorded in.

Part of the fun of 'jammin' along with someone is adapting so pratice playing around with the vocals so that if it was in the incorrect key you could adapt the song to suit your voice and the keyboardist.

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'A genius is one who can do anything except make a living'. Joey Adams.

If the keyboard player is not a complete putzer, you can tell him/her the the song and hum the note where you want to start. He/she will quickly run through a chord progression until one sounds right and there you go.

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Okay, who took my pants?