Transpose again

[jjegede04]

(Before i say any thing, i am sorry if i cause any inconvenience by bringing up this topic.)

Take this senario:
 Your church keyboardist has just left

 there is no one else left for the job

 You have only been playing keybard for about a year

 the choir bombard you with songs

 you dont even have a keyboard at home

 you can only play in C#

 your not even that good 

 you finaly learn a few songs with the little time you have
 but you only know it in one key

 The choir come and sing it in a different key

 You remember that there is a transpose button

 You finsh the song and everyone is happy




Would you say that this person has a good reason to tanspose

If yes, should he carry on doing it

If no, What shoulde have done









                                                              this person is me     

[sjonathan02]

Transpose to get by, for now. At the same time, you need to take what you know in C#/Db and apply to the other keys as practice.


No keyboard at home? Get a key to the church and practice there.

[T-Block]

In my opinion, the only good reason to transpose is either up or down an octave.  Other than that, do what what u want man.  The only person who has to live with it is you.  Plus, if u can only play in one key then u shouldn't be in any kind of main music position.  Again, this is just my opinion and u can agree or not.

[Blackwiz87]

In my opinion, the only good reason to transpose is either up or down an octave.  Other than that, do what what u want man.  The only person who has to live with it is you.  Plus, if u can only play in one key then u shouldn't be in any kind of main music position.  Again, this is just my opinion and u can agree or not.

Thats kind of harsh, don't you think? I mean he was kind of thrown in the position, but I won't go as far as saying that he shouldn't be in any kind of main music position. We don't really know how his church is...if its big, small etc. Maybe the drummer isn't so great...maybe the choir doesn't sing that great...maybe the whole music section could use work. By him coming on this site, he may now try to take that one key and learn everything in all 12 keys and he may work with the choir and the other musicians and they all grow together.

There's no set requirement for being in a main music position. If it was a big church, then yea, everyone is on a level and you're below, but to me, it all depends on the exact situation.


Just throwing my two cents in there.



All in all...obviously, try to stay off of the transpose button. I think you already know the answer to your own question, but you just wanted to see what people had to say about your scenario. Every musician, whether they play in one key or all keys, knows that playing in all keys is always the best way at the end of the day.

[berbie]

I've always believed that if a person is going to transpose, he/she should learn everything in the key of "C" and transpose out as necessary.  He should learn every chord, every lick, every run, all "C" scales (penta., blues,etc.) relating to the key of "C" until he could play them with his eyes closed and his back to the piano.  There will be no confusion how many steps that you are transposing, etc since you are out of c, and the keyboard is in c.  The key of "C" has no sharps or flats and is easy to learn.  A person will start to sound good very quickly and would be able to help his choir.  Then he could learn other keys in the order desired, and at his own pace.(but only after he had become above expert in the key of "C").  I see no harm in it as long as you don't make the key of "C" your permanent career.


berbie

[T-Block]

Thats kind of harsh, don't you think? I mean he was kind of thrown in the position, but I won't go as far as saying that he shouldn't be in any kind of main music position.

Yeah, that is kinda harsh, but it's real.  Sometimes we take on things we aren't ready for just to please people.  Not saying this is the case, but just saying.  You can always turn down a position.

That's just how I feel about the whole thing.  We live in this microwave generation where we want things to just come like that.  People back in the day had to work hard at this stuff w/out all this technology.  And you can see the results of their hard work.

[violist2009]

My .02 amounts to this.

Use the transpose button to get by when you have to. But you should also be learning the songs in other keys(I say the orig key that it was written in or what you have the sheet music for or what you hear if you play by ear, but you get my drift.) and then transpose as you have to.

Also Learn ALL the keys and their relative minors( to get the relative minors take the note of the key and go either 3 half-steps down or 6 whole steps up. xD its pretty funny that a F6 chord is a 3rd(i think) inversion of the Dm7 chord... But anyway the relative minor of the key of F is D minor.)

But anyway be patient you will learn it all eventually. And being thrown into positions is the best way to learn mainly because you have to.

Just stay away from the transpose button as much as possible. But if you need it. Go for it.

[berbie]

I might mention that I don't use the transpose button at all.  I can't use it because the notes don't sound right.  I have a tendency to start playing chords based on how the chord should sound and I get lost if the board is trasposed.  Since I don't know how the chords will sound, I don't know what to play then.  I would use it some other than that.  I know a musician, though, who sounds VERY good, but can only play well in one key. He is transposing most of the time.  He can even pick up the key that a person is singing in and transpose. It works for him and I can't knock it.

berbie 

[Blackwiz87]

I know a musician, though, who sounds VERY good, but can only play well in one key. He is transposing most of the time.  He can even pick up the key that a person is singing in and transpose. It works for him and I can't knock it.

berbie 

Yea, but people are saying that...well, fact is it only works for him because he's staying in his comfort box. I know many musicians who play GREAT in one key and use the transpose button ALL THE TIME...but what happens when they visit a church and that church doesn't have a transpose button..then, will it work for him?

The transpose button is definitely a crutch...it holds you back from really taking your piano to another level because you can never really even understand theory because you never practice it except in one key.


Also, when playing a song for a choir in which the song modulates a few times, trying to press the transpose button at the right moment can be a hassle unless you  have a simple "up and down" transpose button...and still, it can be a hassle....because its not natural sounding.

[momuzik]

Would you say that this person has a good reason to tanspose...

In a situation like this, using the transpose button was a good idea. Your end results probably turned out better than if you all sang acapella. Besides, probably no one but you knew you were transposing. But afterwards, the 1st thing you should do is learn the song in the key it's sung in.

It's a commendable thing you did by stepping in the gap keeping the music moving despite your inexperience, etc...

... Sometimes we take on things we aren't ready for just to please people.  Not saying this is the case, but just saying.  You can always turn down a position...

On-the-job-training isn't all bad as long as you know what you're capable of. In this case you'll learn a lot more and a lot faster by playing and interacting with live singing, off-the-cuff moments and the nervousness of playing in front of people.
Sometimes we need a good foot in the back (like this situation) to give us a jump start.

...He should learn every chord, every lick, every run, all "C" scales (penta., blues,etc.) relating to the key of "C" until he could play them with his eyes closed and his back to the piano....

Why C? I talked to some musicians who hate that key because it has no sharps and flats. One guy explained that keys like Eb, F#, G#, etc... are played mostly on the black keys which sit higher and are separated which makes keys easier to play without "fat-fingering" a lot of notes.

[themidiroom]

In my opinion, the only good reason to transpose is either up or down an octave.  Other than that, do what what u want man.  The only person who has to live with it is you.  Plus, if u can only play in one key then u shouldn't be in any kind of main music position.  Again, this is just my opinion and u can agree or not.

Do you need a hug?      
Anyways, to each his own.  I took a job playing a church many years ago and was in the same situation.  If I hadn't transposed at that time, I probably wouldn't have been able to keep the job.  While musical integrity is very important, being able to keep it moving is also important.  Get a keyboard or get access to the church and work on learning all keys.

[berbie]

In my opnion, C is easier because it has no sharps or flats.  It is easy to transpose out of because the board is set to the key of C.  Many learning tools illustrate in the key of C.  Many licks , fills and other musical info are presented in the key of C to be transcribed to other keys. C is just a convenient key for learning. Personally, I find it an easy key to play, but that fact allows me to understand how some might prefer another key.

berbie

[Fenix]

Use the transpose button...it is good for you.

[T-Block]

Why C?

Here's your answer:

C is just a convenient key for learning.

Music starts with your mind.  So, if u want to train your mind, the key of C is the best place to start cuz u don't have to think as hard.  Since u dealing with all white keys, u can pretty much keep your hands straight most of the time.

As you learn more about music, then u can move to the other keys that have the mix of white and black notes.  The transfer of knowledge is easier from all white keys to adding a black note at a time.

All music theory should be learned in the key of C 1st, then transfered to other keys.  It will make your musical journey a whole lot easier, trust me on this.

[under13]

I hate C.  I honestly dont think learning in C is easier, unless maybe you are a true beginner.

[Blackwiz87]

I hate C too lol.

[berbie]

I C.  We all have our preferences and to each is best his own. It was just a suggestion for a good learning exdperience.  It has merit if it will work for you.

berbie

[T-Block]

I hate C.

I hate C too lol.

I don't really like C either, but it's still the best key to start learning in.

[themidiroom]

I don't really like C either, but it's still the best key to start learning in.

C was the first key I learned way back when.  Probably not all that gospel friendly however.  I remember we were doing Yolanda Adams'  "In the midst of all" and this one visiting musician frown up when I told him it was in C. 

[Incognegro]

(Before i say any thing, i am sorry if i cause any inconvenience by bringing up this topic.)

Take this senario:
 Your church keyboardist has just left

 there is no one else left for the job

 You have only been playing keybard for about a year

 the choir bombard you with songs

 you dont even have a keyboard at home

 you can only play in C#

 your not even that good 

 you finaly learn a few songs with the little time you have
 but you only know it in one key

 The choir come and sing it in a different key

 You remember that there is a transpose button

 You finsh the song and everyone is happy




Would you say that this person has a good reason to tanspose

If yes, should he carry on doing it

If no, What shoulde have done    

Buy a keyboard.

Don't have a lot of money?  buy a cheap one.  You need it.

At this early stage, you need to spend a lot of time working on scales and triads, and you need a keyboard that's readily available for you to do that. 

You're not practicing at your own personal leisure anymore.  Now you have a Sunday Morning service you have to prepare for.  Speak to the person/people who chose the songs on Sunday mornings.  Tell him/her/them that you're just starting out, so you NEED to know the songs a week in advance.  Go home and practice those songs in every key.


As for your transposing, don't lose too much sleep over it.  You're clearly a beginner, and you shouldn't expect to be doing more than you can at this point.

What we do is MINISTRY, and it won't minister if you massacre some poor song just to avoid transposing.

...now if you're still transposing a year from now, I'll say "shame on you".  I had about 3 years to learn before our keyboardist ran out on us, so I never needed the transpose button (still don't know where it is on our board, thank ya Jesus!!!), but your situation is very different from mine.

If you REALLY put you mind to it, a year from now you won't even be thinking about the Transpose.  You won't be a beast, but you'll be able to play in every key.

Learn every key.  Practice, practice, practice.

...but until then, cut yourself a little slack and use the transpose button when you must.