Selecting the best key for the tunes I play

[TF]

For years, possibly decades, I have slavishly played jazz tunes in the Real Book or sheet music key, as presented. It has just occurred to me that I can play in whatever key I like!

I saw a discussion on FB recently where somebody suggested that Girl From Ipanema sounds better in Db than in F, the Real Book key. I agree!

I have started playiing Over The Rainbow in B, just because some of the chords work well for me in this key.

From now on I intend to play my repertoire in whatever key feels right and sounds best.

Any discussion on this topic would be welcome. Thanks.

[Tal_175]

Are you talking about making solo guitar arrangements or playing in a combo setting with other instruments?

[jameslovestal]

For years, possibly decades, I have slavishly played jazz tunes in the Real Book or sheet music key, as presented. It has just occurred to me that I can play in whatever key I like!

I saw a discussion on FB recently where somebody suggested that Girl From Ipanema sounds better in Db than in F, the Real Book key. I agree!

I have started playiing Over The Rainbow in B, just because some of the chords work well for me in this key.

From now on I intend to play my repertoire in whatever key feels right and sounds best.

Any discussion on this topic would be welcome. Thanks.

On guitar, I like Over the Rainbow in Eb (especially acoustic guitar). This keeps all the chords in the middle of the instrument.

[AllanAllen]

Practice transposing, things sound the same in every key to me. I avoid E, I don’t like playing open strings and I can’t sing in E. F is better for my voice, much to the chagrin of old bandmates.

[pamosmusic]

Are you talking about making solo guitar arrangements or playing in a combo setting with other instruments?

Yeah if you’re playing with other people then whatever is fine as long as you’re bringing charts. If you’re not, then you want to go with the key that is most often used. Ireal in general is good but there are a handful of tunes with multiple common keys … Green Dolphin, Autumn Leaves, Straight No Chaser etc.

If it’s solo guitar then whatever works best for what you want to do. Doesn’t matter a bit, as long as it works for your arrangement

[mr. beaumont]

For solo guitar, the first thing i do is see where the highest and lowest note of the melody fall. That dictates everything.

I also make an effort to not play everything in "guitar friendly" keys. Why? Avoiding google.com monotony. If it works in G it'll probably work in Ab too.

[Jimmy blue note]

I keep access to all keys a priority. I love working with pieces when I'm practicing and I'll pick a key of the day to work with, so for instance, it was the key of Ab. I worked on I'll Remember You, How Long Has This Been Going On and Like Someone in Love, all in Ab. It's a great way to find areas of the fingerboard that might become convenient creative ruts.
I value bass players who have that kind of versatility too.
If band members have good ears, it means you can go anywhere, anytime, make arrangements that have refreshing surprizes (Bill Evans' arrangement of Days of Wine and Roses with a key change... Kurt Weil's Leibesleid which ends in a different key from where it begins).
Working in different keys is a really good ear training and fingerboard awareness exercise because relative chord movements are necessarily closely allied with the ability to hear them. Try ATTYA in C. It's really good for you.

This approach was one of the guiding principles of Howard Roberts Super Chops: Take the changes of a standard that has distinctive challenges harmonically, learn it without the head to prejudice you and the next week take the speed up and take it up a 4th. This forces you to use different string sets and different chord choices to work the given harmony.

I get a LOT from not being key tied.

[JazzPadd]

For local jam sessions, my favorite playing setting, I’ll practice tunes in the common book keys (in Japan, The Jazz Standard Bible, 2 volumes, 500 tunes) so anyone can join and play any tune in there any time, the goal being to facilitate the open spontaneous social aspect.

For solo guitar sets, next favorite playing setting, I’ll most always transpose tunes to make use of open strings and/or harmonics.

And in a band for a gig (very rare for me), especially those with singers, in whatever key for which the leader provides charts.

I get it about all tunes in all the keys, but I don’t really need it.

[frabarmus]

For solo guitar sets, next favorite playing setting, I’ll most always transpose tunes to make use of open strings and/or harmonics.

Same here. I like to exploit the lower 3 strings as open strings whenever I can, in order to have one extra free finger which I may use to add an extension, a melody note, embellish, (or whatever).

[Mick-7]

I saw a discussion on FB recently where somebody suggested that Girl From Ipanema sounds better in Db than in F, the Real Book key.

Bossas are usually played in open string guitar keys, e.g., Jobim's tunes are usually in A major or A minor (C Major), F Major/D minor.

[rpjazzguitar]

If there are horns, you have to consider the keys you'll put them in.

So, say, you pick A because you can use open strings and the guitar will sound great -- that puts the trumpet in B and the alto sax in F#.