you need to be able to play in all keys, transpose button is never an option, mental transposition was something taught and practised when i was learning and it has come in very handy...also some keys just sound so good, Db, Gb beautiful rich harmonics, taking these keys to C, whether by the machine transpose or not, ruins the character of the music written for it.

I sight read pretty good, and play fairly well in all keys, but I love the key of "C" and I love those handy old transpose buttons...some licks are just harder to play in other keys, so the transposer is just another tool to make things work better.

Plus, I'm lazy as hell, and whatever will make my job easier is embraced wholeheartedly.

Ian





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Common misconception...size and weight equal quality and performance. Don't be fooled.

I play in the key the singer needs to sing in Never used a transpose button, it just doesn't work for me and I get very confused when an A or a C or an E etc... is suddenly another note.

1-Runs and fill-ins do not have the same feel in different keys. Because of the shape of your hand and your position there is a difference. A blues scale seems so different when I ply different keys.

2-Playing in the same key makes it easier but you lose the ability to modulate in a natural manner. Less automatic stuff gives more of a live realistic sound.

IMHO, John C.

Good catch, chas... Love that tune!

There are two different things going on at the same time here... First is the ability to play in any key. A fine goal, and something that any professional should be able to do, and any amateur should work towards...

Next is the issue of muscle memory, and licks that work in one key, but not as well in another. And this is very interrelated to whether you are working with a singer (including yourself!) that can sing the song in the original key, or whether it needs transposing for their voice (no transpose button on that!). So, although I might be able to pull off a familiar song in an unfamiliar key, if it involves some tricky finger work, or glisses that don't work in other keys, or I am SO used to doing it in one key and will only accompany this singer this once, I'll hit the transpose button, no worries.

Just don't let it become a crutch.... Use it for a reason OTHER than you HAVE to because you can only play a few keys.

Pretty much Zuki's way; original key or whatever key the song's written in. Sharps and flats don't bother me. See, those endless scale runs and arpeggios do pay off.

Taike

[This message has been edited by Vquestor (edited 05-27-2007).]

Diki writes:

Wasn't it Irving Berlin, or one of the old time songwriters that could only play in a few keys? He had a special Steinway made that moved the entire action sideways, so that it could sound in different keys! Early high-tech transpositional technology...!
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Diki, that was indeed Irving Berlin. He could only play in one key, F sharp, essentially only black keys.

I love your posts Ian

I have a friend who alleges he does not read music (though he is a professional keyboard entertainer). He appears to play everything with the most black keys - this saves his rather thick fingers from getting stuck trying to play some white keys!
Keith