Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: capo and singing

  1. #1
    Yossi Katz yoshka's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Lower Galilee, Israel
    Posts
    153

    Default capo and singing

    Let me start off by saying that I have learned a lot of theory, received countless tips and practice advice for my mandolin playing here on the message board. Thanks to all!

    This is a question about singing and playing guitar. There are so many players that are teachers, multi instrumentalists and performers here I figured I could ask. I sing and play accompaniment (chords) on guitar. I have a baritone-bass voice and of course for each song I must find the right key. I try to find the sheet music to songs that I want to sing to check out the range and transpose to a different key (lower) when I need to.
    Sometimes I have only the tab (chords) of the song to go on. What I have found is that if I can't sing songs that are in the key of Am, putting the capo on the first fret allows me to sing these songs.
    My question is why? What have I done in terms of key? Is it that I have raised it up half a tone or lowered it all the way down from Am to Bbm? I have also seen other singers with low voices sing songs with the capo on the first fret so I get the feeling this is not something just particular to my voice. Hope I stated my question clearly. Thanks for the input on this.
    "Ben Zoma said: Who is wise? He who learns from every man" Ethics of the Fathers

  2. #2
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Ont. Canada
    Posts
    359

    Default Re: capo and singing

    You have raised your instrument's voice a half tone to Bbm. However your own voice is an octave (maybe 2) lower. Whatever is comfortable is good.

  3. #3
    Registered User Doug Hoople's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Wellington, NZ
    Posts
    1,140

    Default Re: capo and singing

    A half-step doesn't really seem to be a make-break interval, except if you're talking about hitting the tonic at the bottom of your register.

    When you say that you can't sing it in Am, but you can sing it in Bbm, what part of the singing is difficult? Is it the low notes? Is it the notes in the middle? The high notes? Can you tell by matching your singing pitch with a note on your instrument what the actual note is that's difficult? Or can you tell the pitch of the nearest note that you can sing?

    There are potentially two reasons why a singer might physically have difficulty hitting a note. Either 1) the note is too high or too low to be in range, or 2) some of the notes in the middle fall in the "break" between chest voice and head voice.

    The other potential problem is that the singer may simply be singing the song wrongly transposed and is unaware that the change in pitch doesn't match the change in transposition. In this case, an example might be singing the Bbm version up a 6th from the A version instead of up a half-step. One common reason for such a thing might be that the starting note of the tonic is confused for a starting note on a 5th.

    Singers don't have the mechanical ability to know precisely what note they're singing in the same way that instrumentalists do, so while to an instrumentalist mistransposing might seem unlikely, it's actually quite common among singers.

    Finally, let me take a wild guess at what might be your case. You're a baritone, and the lower cutoff for a baritone's range is anywhere from low C all the way down to low G. If your own personal cutoff is Bb and the lowest note you can sing is Bb, then the tonic in A would be out of reach and the half-step would be that difference. That might also be the reason why the one-fret change is not that uncommon.

    Let us know what part of singing is difficult in A but OK in Bb.
    Doug Hoople
    Adult-onset Instrumentalist (or was that addled-onset?)

  4. #4
    jbmando RIP HK Jim Broyles's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Plymouth Meeting, PA
    Posts
    4,451

    Default Re: capo and singing

    I learned something recently about my own voice. I always believed I was a baritone, and I probably am if I sing in my normal comfortable range. In bluegrass songs, this usually means I can sing in the key of G, and I can usually pull off even a tenor part in G. About 6 months ago I called a song at a jam, figuring I could sing it best in G, and one of the guys suggested I try it in B, and to me surprise, I could actually sing it much better in B. This song was "Think of What You've Done" by the Stanley Brothers. Get this - I can't sing Bill Monroe's "White House Blues" in B - it's way too high. I need that one in G but "Think of What You've Done" is very comfortable for me in B. The only answer is that the particular range varies within keys, and some times, depending on the lowest and highest notes you'll have to sing, going up can be better than going down, as you found out.
    "I thought I knew a lot about music. Then you start digging and the deeper you go, the more there is."~John Mellencamp

    "Theory only seems like rocket science when you don't know it. Once you understand it, it's more like plumbing!"~John McGann

    "IT'S T-R-E-M-O-L-O, dangit!!"~Me

  5. #5
    Yossi Katz yoshka's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Lower Galilee, Israel
    Posts
    153

    Default Re: capo and singing

    Thanks for the replies. After reading Doug's post, I sat down and tried to figure out what the difference is in the two versions of the song in my singing, (in Am and in Bbm). In Am, I am singing much higher and cannot reach the upper notes of the song comfortably. In addition, I can’t sing the song starting lower, it's too low (the song starts on A) I discovered that by putting the capo on and playing the song in Bbm, I am actually singing the song in the lower register of my voice. So Doug, looks like you pegged it right on. Thanks!
    "Ben Zoma said: Who is wise? He who learns from every man" Ethics of the Fathers

  6. #6
    Registered User Doug Hoople's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Wellington, NZ
    Posts
    1,140

    Default Re: capo and singing

    Yes. For baritones, those notes below low C are the cliff. On one note, you're at the edge, and on the next one lower, you're in free fall. Which two notes exactly will vary with each singer, but that's the zone.

    Actually, for a much more comfortable version, you might try your capo on the 5th fret, or just try playing the tune in Dm. It will probably fall right in the sweet, comfortable middle of your range.
    Doug Hoople
    Adult-onset Instrumentalist (or was that addled-onset?)

  7. #7
    Registered User Jon Hall's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Nacogdoches Texas
    Posts
    1,295

    Default Re: capo and singing

    An explanation why a person can sing one song in a particular key and not be able to sing another song in the same key could be because the melody begins on a different note of the same chord.
    If a person could sing a song in A minor that begins on an A they might not be able to sing another song that begins on E but is still in A minor.

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •