I feel comfortable in most keys except B and C#. Don't know why, a mental thing I guess. I learned most tunes in the original key and grew up (musically), as did most of you, in an era when there WAS no 'transpose' button (at least not for keyboard instruments). One problem with transposing is that you will likely change the voicing of chords which, in turn, COULD change the 'feel' of that particular part of a song. Also, some songs just don't sound right in other than the original key. Of course, as someone pointed out, sometimes one has to accomodate a singer, especially a 'guest singer' that popped up from the audience (arrrrrrgggggh).

For the record though, I don't 'look down' or disapprove of using this (very handy) tool, especially if they play the song well in their 'comfort' key. Hey, whatever works. I still believe in initially learning the tune in the original key. One thing that helps me is thinking in terms of CHORDS instead of thinking in terms of KEY. Learn (and get comfortable playing) as many chords (including various voicings, substitutions, etc.) as you can and commit them to muscle memory. Have someone call out random chords and see how fast you can react. You'll be suprised how much this will improve your playing and how much less intimidating 'fake books' will become.

chas