Transposing...

[whitemichael]

I decided to post this as encouragement to everyone who transposes.  I have went and read some of the posts on transposing and some of them are just a lil bit mean...so here is my thing...  Don't be discouraged because you transpose because rather we admit it or not...over 80% of this site has probably transposed at some point in time in their life time.  Actually, think about it if someone starts singing Total Praise all of a sudden out of the key of A natural or E natural, how many of us would be able to follow them, change for change???  I'll say this practice that you can play congregational music in their original keys...learn to play new songs in their original keys...and old ones...lol...but don't stress is someone starts singing something crucial in a foreign key and you are on a keyboard...use the button...lol...but if you are on an organ or piano...fake it...thats another post in its self though...Be encouraged...trust me I have done my share of transposing...and I'll tell you this also...God will elevate an annointed transposer before he does a talented pianist...be blessed...
mike j white

[Mysteryman]

I dont care for the transpose to much. The guys at my church transpose and I kinda dont like playing with them. Part of the reason I say this is because they act like they are tight when the music is pumping or the Spirit is high in the church. They tend to try to take lead then. They just wont put the time in to learn the other keys. Sometimes it can be difficult to when you need to make a quick key change in the service.

Me personally I have used transpose before but you probably wont see me use transpose. Its best that a musician learn simple stuff in every key. If you cant play it good in a certain key just keep it simple in that key. If someone sang total praise in any key I can probably play it. I would just leave some chords out if I had to. LOL Really in the end transpose just makes you a lazy keyboard player. I look back on where I have come from playing and there are alot of things I wish I knew or had done starting out. Now I have to play catch up and clean up some bad habits.

In conclusion LOL I say its best to study all the keys. I cant go easy on a transposer myself included. 

[playhear]

I decided to post this as encouragement to everyone who transposes.  I have went and read some of the posts on transposing and some of them are just a lil bit mean...so here is my thing...  Don't be discouraged because you transpose because rather we admit it or not...over 80% of this site has probably transposed at some point in time in their life time.  Actually, think about it if someone starts singing Total Praise all of a sudden out of the key of A natural or E natural, how many of us would be able to follow them, change for change???  I'll say this practice that you can play congregational music in their original keys...learn to play new songs in their original keys...and old ones...lol...but don't stress is someone starts singing something crucial in a foreign key and you are on a keyboard...use the button...lol...but if you are on an organ or piano...fake it...thats another post in its self though...Be encouraged...trust me I have done my share of transposing...and I'll tell you this also...God will elevate an annointed transposer before he does a talented pianist...be blessed...
mike j white

Bro, I respectfully disagree.  I think coming up musicians should be encouraged to learn every key.  They should NOT be encouraged to use the transpose button.  The transpose button is a crutch to your development as a musician.  I'll borrow a quote from Denzel Washington in Remember The Titans and say, "You're not helping them; you're crippling them for life!"

[allonesound]

Bro, I respectfully disagree.  I think coming up musicians should be encouraged to learn every key.  They should NOT be encouraged to use the transpose button.  The transpose button is a crutch to your development as a musician.  I'll borrow a quote from Denzel Washington in Remember The Titans and say, "You're not helping them; you're crippling them for life!"

i think transposing is cool... but in a way for my personal gain i have to learn to play in every key because i feel dumb if a regular song is in Ab then someone comes in and sings it in Eb and i dont know whats going on...

[elio]

If you transpose you limit yourself to certain progressions - if you always playin C it's unlikely that your fingers will 'know' how to play a, say,  F#dom7#5#9. So when you end up playing a progression that does need that chord you'll need to stop and think, and your playing will be choppy.
Playhear's got it right, transposing is a crutch, don't let it dominate you.

[PianoWizard]

Great post "whitemichael"

PianoWiz...

[T-Block]

I look at it like this, if you know better then you should do better.  Every musician on this site, and even in today's generation, has little to no excuse for using the transpose button when there is so much information to help you learn every key. 

It all goes back to whether or not you want to just be a keyboard player or a musician.  Keyboard players learn one key and that's it.  They don't want to learn any more keys cuz it's too easy to just hit that button for every song.  On the other hand, musicians don't want to just learn one key, they want to learn everything about their instrument and master all keys.  They don't just take the easy way out, they take their craft very seriously.

So, i will pose this question:  Do you want to be just a keyboard player or a musician?  The choice is yours!!!

[76_keYz]

i think you all read a little too much into what whitemichael was saying.  He made a VERY GOOD point.  Check this.  I can play in every key (of course some better than others), and I choose to learn songs in their original, whether its B, D, or E, etc.   But if  I'm at home practicing the song in that key, 9 times out of 10, the choir I play for WILL NOT SING IT IN THAT KEY! 

And in my case, we only have maybe an hour to rehearse before service.  So if the choir decides they can't sing it in the original key, I do'nt have time to run back through the song in a completely separate key, especially if i want it to to sound good enough to perform in front of a church audience.  I think this is the one time where transposing can be excused, especially for intermediate musicians.

By no means am I sayin transposing is musically 'healthy' for a musician, but it shouldn't be shunned on because some use it.  In Mysteryman's case, I can see the problem w/ that.

[playhear]

i think you all read a little too much into what whitemichael was saying.  He made a VERY GOOD point.  Check this.  I can play in every key (of course some better than others), and I choose to learn songs in their original, whether its B, D, or E, etc.   But if  I'm at home practicing the song in that key, 9 times out of 10, the choir I play for WILL NOT SING IT IN THAT KEY! 

And in my case, we only have maybe an hour to rehearse before service.  So if the choir decides they can't sing it in the original key, I do'nt have time to run back through the song in a completely separate key, especially if i want it to to sound good enough to perform in front of a church audience.  I think this is the one time where transposing can be excused, especially for intermediate musicians.

By no means am I sayin transposing is musically 'healthy' for a musician, but it shouldn't be shunned on because some use it.  In Mysteryman's case, I can see the problem w/ that.

I hear you.

The problem is that it takes experience to understand what you just said.  A beginner is likely going to read that and say, "I'll go even further; I'll just learn my songs in C because I have this little transpose button which they said is OK to use..."

Also, it is possible to get to the point where you can practice in one key yet know every other key so well that you can instantly play in another key.  Are you saying that because you use the transpose button that it's ok to use it?  I hope you’re not using yourself as the standard to which to strive.

I admit I'm not fluent in all keys yet.  But I can change a song from F into Gb fairly fluently.  With practice, I should be able to do that in all keys, right?  I've seen advanced musicians do it.  That's where I want to be.

If you must use the transpose key, just realize that it is faking it.  You shouldn't feel comfortable doing it.

Further, acoustic pianos don't have a transpose button.  What are you going to do if one day a famous artist wants to bounce ideas off YOU while you're on an acoustic piano?  If you don't know all keys, he's not going to know what the problem is; he's just going to know that something ain't right; he'll go back to his boys talking bad about you.  I've seen it happen to a pianist/keyboardist who couldn't change keys.

[76_keYz]

I hear you.

The problem is that it takes experience to understand what you just said.  A beginner is likely going to read that and say, "I'll go even further; I'll just learn my songs in C because I have this little transpose button which they said is OK to use..."

Also, it is possible to get to the point where you can practice in one key yet know every other key so well that you can instantly play in another key.  Are you saying that because you use the transpose button that it's ok to use it?  I hope you’re not using yourself as the standard to which to strive.

I admit I'm not fluent in all keys yet.  But I can change a song from F into Gb fairly fluently.  With practice, I should be able to do that in all keys, right?  I've seen advanced musicians do it.  That's where I want to be.

If you must use the transpose key, just realize that it is faking it.  You shouldn't feel comfortable doing it.

Further, acoustic pianos don't have a transpose button.  What are you going to do if one day a famous artist wants to bounce ideas off YOU while you're on an acoustic piano?  If you don't know all keys, he's not going to know what the problem is; he's just going to know that something ain't right; he'll go back to his boys talking bad about you.  I've seen it happen to a pianist/keyboardist who couldn't change keys.

ok... what you said makes sense.  And to answer your question, NO... by no means is using the transpose key justified.  I just feel it can be 'excused' in some instances.  I don't know about you guys, but I have to learn maybe 3 songs EVERY WEEK!  It gets aggrevating sometimes.  I WISH i had time to sit down and go over all songs I learn in more than one key, but i just don't have the time. 

But back to the point, i have to be honest, it can be real comfortable learning all songs in a certain key (C# for me) and then transposing, but you have to be disciplined.  Fortunately, it was drilled into me when I first started playing that I needed to learn all my scales and keys.  But I do see how some musicians fall into that 'transpose trap'.

gea.

[whitemichael]

Well, I would take this moment to clarify my previous post.  I was not justifying transposing, but instead reminding everyone that at some point in their ascension to "musician" status, they were a "keyboardist".  I think like Jesus said, let him that is without sin cast the first stone.  There is such a thing as encouragement, and then there is just plain condemnation.  What we fail to realize is that there maybe someone out here that is not as strong spiritually as we are and our comments may make them give up trying to learn to play completely.  As seasoned "ministers of music" be mindful that we don't become modern day Pharisees.  As musicians we must study to show ourselves approved, so no, do not spend your entire musical career depending on a button, but be mindful that there is a time for everything.  You may not learn to play in every key at the same time, but through practice you will.  In all actually remember that we are playing for God alone, and he does want our best.  Now let me deal with the other issue, what to do on an acoustic piano.  Well, I hope that even if you transpose you atleast know the basic chords in the other keys.  IF you do, then just play a mild toned down version if you are on the piano.  You know what I mean, so maybe you will not do all the changes you know in Eb, but it will still sound just like the song you are playing.  "fake it..."  Everyone be blessed...I just wanted to clarify myself, I was not saying that we should spend the rest of our lives transposing, but instead we should do "our best"...

[playhear]

Well, I would take this moment to clarify my previous post.  I was not justifying transposing, but instead reminding everyone that at some point in their ascension to "musician" status, they were a "keyboardist".  I think like Jesus said, let him that is without sin cast the first stone.  There is such a thing as encouragement, and then there is just plain condemnation.  What we fail to realize is that there maybe someone out here that is not as strong spiritually as we are and our comments may make them give up trying to learn to play completely.  As seasoned "ministers of music" be mindful that we don't become modern day Pharisees.  As musicians we must study to show ourselves approved, so no, do not spend your entire musical career depending on a button, but be mindful that there is a time for everything.  You may not learn to play in every key at the same time, but through practice you will.  In all actually remember that we are playing for God alone, and he does want our best.  Now let me deal with the other issue, what to do on an acoustic piano.  Well, I hope that even if you transpose you atleast know the basic chords in the other keys.  IF you do, then just play a mild toned down version if you are on the piano.  You know what I mean, so maybe you will not do all the changes you know in Eb, but it will still sound just like the song you are playing.  "fake it..."  Everyone be blessed...I just wanted to clarify myself, I was not saying that we should spend the rest of our lives transposing, but instead we should do "our best"...

I figured that was your point from the beginning.  I'm glad you clarified.