Vocalists, lacking an instrumental range, often transpose the key of a song from the one it was written in, known as its standard key. Even if the range of a song rests comfortably within our reach, we may want a certain feel or tone in our presentation. This is comparable to a saxophonist picking up a tenor sax for one song and switching to soprano for another.
Singing at the top of your range can sound youthful or naive, qualities that may work for a particular dramatic situation but do not always convey the image you want to create for yourself. Female vocalists, in particular, tend to sing in a lower voice these days compared to singers in the 1940s and ‘50s. On the other hand, a song placed too low in your register can sound muddy and restrict projection.
So we change the key, a perfectly legitimate thing to do. The problem occurs when we expect our accompanists to do the changing for us, sometimes right there on the bandstand with a restless audience waiting to hear some music. Most Jazz musicians are comfortable transposing standards into other keys and will do it graciously. But not all musicians have this level of expertise at their disposal and so, when forced to do so may feel put upon, even angry that their ‘shortcoming’ has been revealed.
Let’s look at it another way: you’ve been called up to the stage by a friend in the band to sit in, that is to sing something impromptu and unrehearsed. You give the band your selection and the pianist asks you for a key. So far, so good. You mumble something about not being sure. The pianist, nice guy that he is, runs the first couple of bars of the tune in a few different keys so you can judge which one is best for your voice. You settle on one and, crisis averted, you turn to face the audience and start the tune.
What do you think is going on in the minds of the musicians behind you as they play? Maybe the pianist is thinking, ‘boy, I had to memorize the melody, the chords, the form, and be able to play it in several different keys. All she had to do was learn the melody, the lyrics, and a letter in the alphabet from A to G so she could give us a key’. You have given them an estimation of your abilities and commitment before you even opened your mouth to sing a note.
‘But I sing well’, you may counter, ‘people like to listen to me’. That’s great and the musicians may truly enjoy listening to you sing. But all that means, in their minds, is you are someone with a nice voice who knows a few songs. You are not a dedicated musician who deserves respect and honor for all the hard work you have put into your craft. If you are young, they’ll cut you some slack, if you’re pretty or handsome, ditto, but don’t expect to be treated as an equal. You won’t be called for future gigs because you don’t have a repertoire, charts, and experience.
Believe it or not, these are some of the things said by singers to
instrumentalists as they step up to the stage, and the instrumentalists’ (silent) replies:
“What key do I sing in?”
(You’re asking me? I’ve never seen you before in my life!) “I sing in C.”
(Every song in the world? You sing them all in C?) “Here’s my key - [sings] la, la, la, la....”
(Oh, brother...)
Sound silly, don’t they? Silly or not, they’ve been said countless times to countless instrumentalists over the years. It may be unfair but you can see why you have to work hard to counter the prejudgments of instrumentalists toward y o u .
SITTING IN
The bandstand is not some happy, flower-strewn land where everybody loves each other all the time. But it can be, and when it is, it’s the most
wonderful place to be on earth. Quite often though, especially at ‘jam sessions’ and sit-in situations, it’s a battlefield. Among instrumentalists, complicated tunes are called at breakneck tempos to test the mettle of the ‘new guy’ brave enough to step into the fray. As a singer, you have a bit more control, for you would generally be choosing the song and the tempo at which it would be performed. But the same attitude of checking out your wares, so to speak, prevails. Believe me, you want to be well armed and well prepared.
So, what do I do, you ask, quit before I even get started? Not at all! You’re learning more about music every day and you don’t have to wait until you’ve gotten everything together before you sing with a band. There are a few techniques you can use to make your debut with your friendly neighborhood combo smooth and hassle free.
Think of the golden rule, or a variation of it: don’t ask anyone to do what you can’t do yourself, or could but just haven’t taken the time. In other words, don’t make them do your job (unless you’re paying them to help you). If you’ve figured out a good key for a song at home by plunking out the changes or the roots on your piano, you’ve done some preparation. Now you can give them the right key with confidence.
If it is a key that is used often, there shouldn’t be a problem. For
example, Misty has a standard key of E . You need to lower it a little. Do you pick D ? Why, when C is so much more familiar to most musicians? Blues in G ? F is only a half step away and a more traditional key for Blues than G .
Now the musicians know that you know enough to choose commonly used keys. I don’t like to get into terms like ‘hard’ and ‘easy’ keys, let’s just say more familiar or less commonly used. After all, you’re asking the players to step outside of their comfort zone by changing the key in the first place. Why not make it as easy for them as possible? Nobody wants to look bad on the
bandstand and anything you can do to make them sound better makes you sound better, too.
Sitting in with a band at a club or restaurant is the best way to get yourself known in your area. You may find a few ads in music-oriented newspapers but you’re going to have to audition for those jobs as well. And getting acquainted with working professionals, people who already have gigs, is a better bet than throwing your lot in with a guy just getting himself together and advertising for players. The working band may have a wedding gig next
week and need a singer. Wouldn’t you like to fill the bill?
There are a number of things you can do to make sitting in a positive experience. If you don’t have charts yet, and truthfully, no one expects you to carry music around with you when you’re out for the evening, you can have a few songs prepared that don’t require charts. As mentioned earlier, some of those songs could be well-known standards that you can sing in standard key or can be transposed into an equally familiar key. Just by acknowledging that you are asking for something that not all musicians are capable of doing, rather than simply expecting it, gives the accompanists their due for the hours they’ve spent honing that special skill.
Do some investigating to find those songs that you can sing comfortably in the standard or ‘book’ key. Here is where the guys have it a little easier, more standards seem to fit their range than they do for the ladies. But there are some out there.
Another great option is having a few Blues heads in your repertoire.
Asking for a twelve bar Blues in F or C or B , to name a few common Blues keys, is perfectly acceptable. Musicians do it all the time. You just need to know the melody and the verses, count out a tempo, and you’re on your way.