Theory & Impro Vocal range and key (major or minor)

[RiceBag]

Dear friends,

I have been busy practicing advice from this forum and trying to improve, in general.

I would appreciate some guidance with some basic rationale on the following:

1. If a song starts in its minor key then in a subsequent part it changes to Major scale. I know some songs move to the relative Major (starts in A minor and shifts to C. But some move to the same tone but in Major (Starts in A minor and shifts to A major). So, of this two shifts, which requires the wider vocal-range (harder to sing)?

Since I can not by myself figure an answer, I don't even know if this is a valid question, but this has to do with my not knowing notation and being an ear player.

So some general direction that I can put to practical use is what is being sought.

Thanks, as usual!

 

[Simon]

Hey RB,

I dunno if it's a valid question either, but if a melody with the same range of notes moved to a relative major from a minor (eg A minor to C Major) as compared to a move between parallel minor/major (eg A minor to A Major), then the first would have the wider range.

Simon

 

[Linky Lee]

Surely it all depends on the melody, irrespective of key.

If a section is in one key and it the melody goes from C3 to C4 in C minor, then it shifts to C major and goes from C3 to E4, it's going to require a larger vocal range to sing.

Also by transposing something to a new key won't make the vocal range any larger as it's a transposition of intervals, so the intervals will still be the same.

It may mean that if you have the same singer doing it he may have to be able to sing in both transpositions because of the new root being higher/lower than the other one.

 

[Simon]

Actually, no, on consideration I reckon the answer to this isn't very useful or generalisable.

There are too many examples of vocal tunes that run to a 2 octave range that have both parallel and relative movement in the harmony.

So "no pattern there" me thinks.

Just learn the melody and let the rhythm section worry about the backing... 😉

Simon

 

[RiceBag]

Thank you, dear friends for your replies.

I do now realize what's being said, and have since been on my own exploring the behinds of this not quite proper question of mine. Again, though, am hoping for clarity that I again lack.

Yes, I do find that it's a matter of the tune or song, how it ranges, as far as the range demanded of what notes are covered, be it vocals, keyboard, or other instruments.

I have now kind of getting to some little (hopefully), clarity, and would again (pardon) appreciate some input/correction on what it is.

I have an old tango song that starts in E minor and then moves to G Major chord playing. We know that they are the relatives of each other, of course, so the scale, as far as notes, is the same.

I always played it like that, and that's the way it shows as to chords on old prints.

Then I started substituting minor 7 relative for the Major and play it as if it all was minor. I then do find that, where a part approaches 'conclusion', if I conclude in a minor, as said, and I do play the tune based on that minor chord, the range of the notes (using keyboard) is like one or two notes less high.

So, I suppose that if the keyboard playing stretches less, so would vocals. Is this a 'principle'?

I am not a sax player, but it seems to me that I do hear this 'principle?' often in sax playing, and, I for many years, couldn't quite figure why some tunes sounds different than typical playing, specially of simpleton learners like me.

As to being a tango, the song, played as said, sounds a little more 'jazzed', but of course, with me it's no jazz.

But it does make the song sounds rather nice, specially not being a tango player either.

In other words, substituting a Major chord for its relative minor can and does lower the vocal range demanded by a song, a little?

Shared insight from this forum has been very valuable to me, and do hope there's some to share on this above, as well.

Thanks!