Key

BroKen_H said:
Playing with a capo is kind of new to me (only started playing guitar about 8 years ago). This morning I was trying to figure out the easy way to do the chord progression I was working with E-B-F#-C#m and G#m (not necessarily in that order) from the piano, and tried it open tuning on the guitar...didn't work. Went to the 2nd fret and it left too many bar chords. Tried 7th fret, but that didn't sound good. Then I realized that E and B would be C and G on the 4th...and it was a lot easier! I even figured how to switch back and forth from G to G7 for the inversion. :) Probably not anything spectacular to you guitar players, but a couple milestones for me.
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Here is a pretty good chart:
CapoConversion.jpg
 
BroKen_H said:
Playing with a capo is kind of new to me (only started playing guitar about 8 years ago). This morning I was trying to figure out the easy way to do the chord progression I was working with E-B-F#-C#m and G#m (not necessarily in that order) from the piano, and tried it open tuning on the guitar...didn't work. Went to the 2nd fret and it left too many bar chords. Tried 7th fret, but that didn't sound good. Then I realized that E and B would be C and G on the 4th...and it was a lot easier! I even figured how to switch back and forth from G to G7 for the inversion. :) Probably not anything spectacular to you guitar players, but a couple milestones for me.
Click to expand...

see, I would try keeping standard tuning and opening up the B and high E strings on the B, C#m, and maybe G#m. Those can ring open for those chords, depending on the rest of the song. Our Lady Peace used that a lot...open top strings over E/C#m chords.
 
DM60 said:
Here is a pretty good chart:
View attachment 96409
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Stolen! Thanks :)

andrushkiwt said:
see, I would try keeping standard tuning and opening up the B and high E strings on the B, C#m, and maybe G#m. Those can ring open for those chords, depending on the rest of the song. Our Lady Peace used that a lot...open top strings over E/C#m chords.
Click to expand...

See, that's the difference between a guitar player and a pianist that's learning to play the guitar. I haven't a clue what you mean...:confused:
Going to the 4th fret made my chord progression Am-D-G-Em-Am-D-G-G7 with a C thrown in for the Am on the 2nd turn and Em D C D on the turnaround...simple fingering and lots of open strings.
 
BroKen_H said:
Stolen! Thanks :)



See, that's the difference between a guitar player and a pianist that's learning to play the guitar. I haven't a clue what you mean...:confused:
Going to the 4th fret made my chord progression Am-D-G-Em-Am-D-G-G7 with a C thrown in for the Am on the 2nd turn and Em D C D on the turnaround...simple fingering and lots of open strings.
Click to expand...

Yes, that's a lot more open for sure. I just meant that when playing C#m, or B, you could leave high B and E open. Play the rest as they are. That gives you some more open strings on top of E, which already has 3
 
I don't have any favorite keys to write in. As others have indicated, the instrument I write on often dictates the key. On guitar I tend to write more riff driven songs - so I may use E, Em, A and Am more (unless it's in the country genre - when I tend to use C, G, or D.

When I write on piano, I tend to write more "melodic" tunes and often use F, Bb (which are more friendly chords than on guitar. In fact, on piano, I often write in various b or # keys (which does make it harder to create the guitar parts when I record.

It also depends on if I'm writing a song that I anticipate I will sing (with a more limited vocal range) vs. songs that I anticipate various male or female vocalists I use will be singing.

That being said - I've always liked the emotional impact of Am and Dm
 
BroKen_H said:
Stolen! Thanks :)



See, that's the difference between a guitar player and a pianist that's learning to play the guitar. I haven't a clue what you mean...:confused:
Going to the 4th fret made my chord progression Am-D-G-Em-Am-D-G-G7 with a C thrown in for the Am on the 2nd turn and Em D C D on the turnaround...simple fingering and lots of open strings.
Click to expand...

Really it is all the same expect for: Open strings, which you don't have on the piano. Complexity of the fingering pattern on the guitar. If you never play an open string, there is no need for a capo. When I play the bass, I don't use a capo regardless of the key, but I don't have a open string in a chord. One or maybe two strings are played at the same time.
 
All the strings are open on the piano if you press the sustain pedal...or whatever you're holding when the sostenuto pedal is pressed.
I've never (as a bassist) found open strings to be flattering.
Acoustic, however sounds best (IMO) when there are open strings in the chord (not barre chords)...If my acoustic was as easy to play as my brother's 60s issue Dove, I'd probably not care, but to get the best sound from mine, I've got to use the capo. Probably better playing from better players comes into the balliwick as well, though.
 
I write the song for my vocal range. If I want to sing harmonies to it, I may adjust the key accordingly, or just harmonize in falsetto.
I'll move it a semitone up or down to avoid flats and sharps - except Bb which is just a cool key :D
 
You can't forget a key also give the song a mood. Something in C, using the same chord progression 1,4,5 would sound so different say in a minor key, or ...

For those who haven't, experiment with key changes, it opens up a new world and ideas. For those you play guitar, it is easy. Grab the capo, play the same open chords and run the capo up the frets. So many cool new sounds come out. And the fingering hasn't changed. C,G, F (for example) sounds so new again. Like when you first started playing.
 
I wrote a song I'm about to resurrect a piece of in a new song where the whole chord progression was an E chord moved up the neck on different frets without the barre...but that's not what Dave's talking about. :)
Tis true though. I've written songs in C and then needed to sing them in F and had to completely rewrite parts of the song to get the feel back. Especially bass lines. One of the first songs I ever wrote, I still perform, but I wrote it in D and sing it in F. I still transpose the piano every time I play it as I'm too lazy (or it's too ingrained in my head) to play it in F...
 
ido1957 said:
I write the song for my vocal range. If I want to sing harmonies to it, I may adjust the key accordingly, or just harmonize in falsetto.
I'll move it a semitone up or down to avoid flats and sharps - except Bb which is just a cool key :D
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OMG + 1. Every single time I ignore the reality of my range I set myself up for total failure and end up desperately trying to fix. I just never seem to learn. Most of the keys I gravitate towards on keys just SUCK for me, except Bb, which works out great :-)
 
Tend to write in E Minor a lot cos I can play lead with having to think at all! Pretty good with D minor too from playing in drop D a lot and find A minor easy too. (Equally fine with the relative majors of course).

Just done a song that shifts from B minor to E minor which is fun as it's quite a subtle change but you can use the differences to make it sound really quirky as you change or avoid the differences to make it virtually un noticeable.

Writing in B flat or F sharp or something on the guitar must be akin to self harm! What's the point in making shit difficult and unfamiliar
 
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Bb is a cool key to jam in. The songs I've been writing lately have been F, C, Am, Gm, Dm, Em. Just whatever I can manage to sing the vocal in. No key is ideal for that.
 
fat_fleet said:
I have a couple songs in F#. Works just as good as any other key.. no self harm necessary. :)
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I started the last one off in f then moved it down to e flat and things only got worse. I was thinking about what greg said - and it is kind of funny - when I write a song on guitar I have absolutely no idea what key it is in. Piano I always do. Probably because of the way the instrument is laid out. I start out, figure out the scale and then remember how many flats or sharps it has and just keep that in mind as I am playing.
 
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