GUITAR
FINDING A SONG ’ S IDEAL KEY | David Harsh
How do we choose the best key for a song , especially one that has a vocal melody ?
There ’ s a common misconception out there that basically states that melodies in the key of D are higher than melodies in the key of C . Let ’ s dispel that myth today .
Grab a few minutes to watch the accompanying video for this article ( while it ’ s available ) at www . GuitarSuccess4U . com / IdealKey .
If someone were to argue that a melody in the key of D is higher than a melody in the key of C , they wouldn ’ t necessarily be correct . Now , if we ’ re talking about the same song , then that statement applies . If I sing a melody in C , and I transpose the song that melody is in up a Major 2 nd to the key of D , then , yes , I ’ ll sing that melody higher . But otherwise , all bets are off .
Why ? Because how high the notes in a melody go , is not directly related to which key the song is in . The highest notes in a melody are actually based on the vocal range of the song . The Italian word for this is tessitura . In simple terms ,