[iltpff]

Hi folks, I will try to ask this as simple as possible...

Let's say I am playing a song in the key of "C" and the chords are C, F, G7, if the song is too high for my voice, and I want to play it in a different key, or transpose it, is there a rule as to what the next key should be or do I just pick a key that is in my vocal range and take all the other chords that are currently in the song and change them to fit the new key?

Example, let's say the chord in one of the songs is Bbm7, would I need to change thios to a another bm7 in the new key to be consistant?

Thanks

[Fretsource]

The only rule is that you must be able to play it as well as sing it in the new key. Choose any key which suits your voice for that particular song. If, for example, you find that the keys D and Db work well for singing that song, then choose the guitar friendly key of D, rather than Db.
Every chord type in the new key will be exactly the same in the new key. So Bbmin7 will still be some form of minor 7 in the new key, but whether it's Amin7 or B min7 or whatever depends on which new key you're transposing to.
Using a capo, however, gets around that problem. All the keys become equally easy to play in that case - (but still not equally easy to sing until someone invents a voice capo.

[iltpff]

Thanks for the feedback Fret; this leads me to another question then, if I change the key, and play the related bm7 chord in the new key, how would you determine which chord equivilent to play while being capoed?

An example I thought of would be if you capoed on the third fret, and played the chord shapes G (for Eb), C (for Ab), and D (for Bb), but how does this abpply to the different chords such as the bm7ths and other odd ball chords when using a capo? Which shapes would you use for these?

I hope my question is clear...

[Fretsource]

Let me see if I follow you. You put a capo on the third fret and play a G shape chord, right? But that would produce Bb, not Eb. Playing a C capoed at 3rd fret would give you Eb, not Ab. You're counting the wrong way, unless I'm not understanding you right.
Anyway, ALL chords follow exactly the same rule, whether it's major minor, min7, half demented thirteenth, or whatever.

[scotty_b]

Originally Posted by Fretsource

but still not equally easy to sing until someone invents a voice capo.

That would be ultra-tight jeans I believe.

[justinthyme]

Originally Posted by scotty_b

That would be ultra-tight jeans I believe.

A BeeGees invention maybe?

[Fretsource]

Originally Posted by scotty_b

That would be ultra-tight jeans I believe.

Yep - tried that. painful but effective

[iltpff]

Originally Posted by Fretsource

Let me see if I follow you. You put a capo on the third fret and play a G shape chord, right? But that would produce Bb, not Eb. Playing a C capoed at 3rd fret would give you Eb, not Ab. You're counting the wrong way, unless I'm not understanding you right.
Anyway, ALL chords follow exactly the same rule, whether it's major minor, min7, half demented thirteenth, or whatever.

Yes, you are right, about the chords, sorry about that. Ok, tell me what chord shape I would play capoed at the third fret for a Ebm7, this may help me understand it better.

[Fretsource]

To produce the sound of Eb minor 7, you would play C minor 7 and the capo at the third fret would raise that to Eb minor 7.

C minor 7 can be played at frets X35343 (or any other shape that you know for it) - but with the capo on at fret 3 you would play those frets relative to the capo (as if the capo was the nut) so using that shape, you'd really be playing at frets X68675.

[iltpff]

Thanks Fret, I guess my biggest problem is trying to find out what chord shapes to play when using the capo to get the same sound as an uncapoed chord shape.

Thanks

[Fretsource]

Just remember to count the right way, iltpff - up or down, depending on what you want to do.
For example:
You want to play along with a song on a CD but its in the unfriendly (for guitarists) key of Eb.
All you need to do is put the capo on fret 1 and play the song in D, which is one half step DOWN in this case. It will sound exactly the same because the capo on fret 1 raises it back up again by exactly the same amount.

[iltpff]

Yes, thanks Fret, it's the other chord shapes with the capo on for the stranger chords...

Thanks again

[iltpff]

Kirk, I hope you see this, but can I ask why my tag line under my name has been changed involuntarily, and they are different on several posts? I am not into games like this, and if it one of the moderators that did this to be funny, then I request my memership be pulled. Why can't a guy ask a sincere question without being tagged with a slogan that degrades the persons ability or reflect on them?

Rediculous...

[iltpff]

The more I thought about it, the more I came to the realization of, they are right, I will never be that good, and I can accept that, but I can have fun with it... and I should have read more of the others post before spouting, as they are similar with teh captions... where have I been??

[Clancy]

Originally Posted by iltpff

Kirk, I hope you see this, but can I ask why my tag line under my name has been changed involuntarily, and they are different on several posts? I am not into games like this, and if it one of the moderators that did this to be funny, then I request my memership be pulled. Why can't a guy ask a sincere question without being tagged with a slogan that degrades the persons ability or reflect on them?

Rediculous...

iltpff, I'm not sure how your signature changed to that. The moderators can't change your signature. I can change it and so can Kirk, but we have no reason whatsoever to do that. The only time I would change a signature is to delete it if it is inappropriate.

Does someone else have access to the computer or computers you use to login here? If so, maybe they changed it. There is no other explanation.

Clancy