A lot of us use transpose for a variety of reasons. It's just another tool on the keyboard. Mostly it's used to accommodate a singer without having to transpose the sheet music. When I use the feature, it's because I prefer to play in the key of "C". I find it easier to adlib.

Question. What does a key do???

Answer. It opens the door!!!!!

Walter.

[This message has been edited by Walter McLaren (edited 06-12-2003).]

I learned to transpose while reading the music back in my horn blowing days. I was always in either b or e flat and nobody else was. I play piano in all keys. Now days in my old age, I only play in the key of C and by instinct on the arrangers, and use the transposer, Life is good for old dudes.
Some instruments get to sounding really bad unless you raise the key for them also.
Best to all
Bebop

hi Joan: I like to use the 'transpose button', modulating a 1/2 step, and possibly several times during a song (at each subsequent chorus) to deliver fresh new energy to the song. You can hear an example of this on : "The Coffee Song" located on my website: http://scottyee.com

Go to the song demos page.

Scott

I would be lost without my transpose buttons, though there is something perculiar about playing everything in C and transposing it to the intended key... it never quite sounds the same if you had played it in the proper key! Maybe its to do with harmonies in chords, but on occasions I use transpose to lift a song with a crafty key change, or to play awkward parts that otherwise leave me dangling over black notes!

Simon

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YES. I totally agree with Simon here! The master classical music composers (Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, etc) composed their music in 'specific' keys to evoke a given mood which just can't be matched if played in another key. When played in different keys, not only are the chord voicings (harmonies) altered, but the harmonic overtones themselves are changed as well, giving the sound a different flavor. - Scott

For myself I like to have the printed sheet music for a song in a least 3 different keys before I sit down at the keyboard and start to arrange a song.

Many of the instruments on the keyboards sound their best in certain note ranges, and of course in trying to put them altogether in a harmonic structure, certain keys will work easier and better then others in different combinations.

Not having different keys to work with would, for me, be boring and non productive.

Larry Gosmeyer

I liked Uncle Dave's analogy to a guitarist using a capo. It is very true, if the fingering playing in a certain key makes playing easier to perform then I would by all means use the transpose feature. In fact the keys on a keyboard require different physical skills to play the same thing in different keys unlike a guitar.

Of course you should be able to play in all keys and should practice doing so. But for certain soloing techniques it can be difficult to play them precisely the same in all 12 key configurations. Don't rely on the transpose feature but do use it where it helps you to deliver the best performance that you are capable of. The bottom line always is the musical performance.