How to select a key-signature for a song

Question

There are so many songs in pretty odd key-signatures like 4,5,6 sharps or flats. At least this is my impression when I listen to songs on the radio/net while trying to follow them on my piano/guitar. I can understand that some instruments prefer certain ranges of the circle of fifths, nevertheless ...

• are songs really "written" in the keys you hear on the radio/CD/...
• why do composers make their lives so difficult, why don't they use "easier" keys?
• what are the criteria for a composer (today - tempered tuning) to select a key for a song

Answer 1

As I'm sure you're aware, you can transpose any tune to whatever key you like.

One reason to choose a certain key, is simply that it sounds good.

It might be that you feel that notes of a certain pitch inherently sound pleasant on your chosen instrument. I happen to like the tone of my guitar with a capo on the 7th string, for example.

Or it might be that due to tempered tuning, the intervals work better for you (the difference between a C and a G is only approximately the difference between a D and an A). Most people can't consciously detect those differences, but there may be subconscious effects.

Another reason is ease of playing. You've asked why composers don't use "easier" keys. Bear in mind that what's easy on one instrument isn't so easy on another. Beginner guitarists don't like C major because they have to play a barre F chord. Beginner pianists love C major because it's all on the white keys. When composing for an orchestra or a band, you have to keep in mind preferred keys on all kinds of instruments -- violins, woodwind, harp, etc.

For songs, there's also vocal range to be considered. This is probably the main reason folk/pop/rock songs get transposed.

Finally there's the feel brought about by the mechanics of playing the piece in a given key on a given instrument. To go from an F to a G on a recorder, you have to lift three fingers. To go from a G to an A, you only lift one finger. You can imagine how the latter would sound cleaner -- and the effect may be more dramatic on other instruments.

Answer 2

I have heard that some keys "sound" different because of slight variations in the frequency spacing between notes, but I cannot tell any difference. Two reasons to select a key for a song are

• Voice range. The song should be in a range within the singer's ability and where the singer sounds best.

• Up a half step. In a lot of songs, the key changes up a half step to get some inspiration going. This can result in a whole lot of sharps or flats.

Songs are usually written in the key you hear, but it is possible to electronically change the pitch. Most professional musicians can handle any key proficiently. This makes me jealous. Some music books you can buy have the songs transposed into keys that are easier to play.

Answer 3

Key signatures with sharps and flats aren't any easier or harder. On a piano, for example, I find E Major (4 sharps) to be the easiest to play, whereas the composer Chopin taught his students B Major (5 sharps) first since he viewed it as the easiest. C Major, which you might think is the easiest because it's all white notes, is actually quite unnatural. Your fingers are different lengths so playing all the white keys forces your hand to take on awkward positions.

If a particular key seems easier to you, that mostly just means you've had more practice with it (either mentally or physically). With more practice you'll be able to just look at a key signature and begin playing without needing to think about it; you'll play the right flats/sharps automatically.

With guitar in particular there are certain shapes that are harder to play than others, but you can use a capo or an alternate tuning to make that problem disappear. Thinking that songs should be written to fit one's current tuning and experience would be silly, since there is so much variety out there and most music uses more than one instrument!

Answer 4

I would compose in whichever key is easiest for you to work in and get your ideas across. Then you can transpose the song to another key if necessary depending on who you are playing with. If you're working with professional musicians, they should be able to play in any key even in the "hard ones." If not, then you may need to put the song in an "easier" key, which most people generally feel are ones with fewer sharps and flats. However, the most important thing is that the key work for your vocalist--figure out the range of notes of your melody and put the song in a key that it is singable for your vocalist or the vocal type you plan to use whether it's soprano, alto, tenor or barritone voice. If you're not sure what's singable, ask someone to try it out and it'll become immediately obvious. Good luck!

Answer 5

Well if you have horns, there are Eb instruments and Bb instruments that are common and "easier" for beginners. Piano beginners use C often, guitarists use E and A often since those are easy chords in an open position. So, many times, a key is chosen by the instruments and levels of the players.

Answer 6

To answer your specific question:

• are songs really "written" in the keys you hear on the radio/CD/?

the answer is, "usually not."

The way it's been done for centuries:

1) The song gets written. Key is irrelevant. It may be written down in one key, but nobody pays attention to that.

2) A singer decides to perform the song. The singer transposes the key of the song to the best one that fits the range of his or her particular voice. When other singers perform the song, they chose different keys at will.

3) If the song gets published, it may be written out in one key or another at the discretion of the publisher. The key it's published in is usually one that's been chosen by a popular singer who had a hit with the song.

This changed a bit in the 20th century with the advent of recording and radio broadcast. At that time the public got accustomed to hearing a certain song in a particular key because they listened over and over again to a certain popular recording by a certain pop star.

Any instrumental musician worth their salt can play any song in any key. Your idea that some keys are harder to play in than others is illusory. Proficient musicians learn to play anything in any key.

To this day, in jazz, any song can be played in any key at any time. Get a bunch of jazz musicians together to perform, give them a list of songs, and on the spot, usually with the guidance of a lead singer, they will select different keys for each song just for that one performance. If the sheet music is written out in a certain key, the jazz musicians and the singer will transpose to any different key they agree on while they are reading the sheet music written in one key.

The big exception to this is rock music based around guitars. Rock music played on guitars is almost always written in the keys of E, A, or D, because rock guitarists tend to write an entire song around the capabilities of the guitar, which favors certain open strings as pedal points. Rock musicians generally don't learn to play any song in any key like musicians in other genres do. But for the other 99.9999% of music in the history of the world, any song can be transposed to any key at any time.