Do you learn pieces by playing in the key you heard it and other questions

[Beemer]

My questions are for those who learn a piece without written music or written chords, i.e. by ear
- Do you learn pieces by playing in the key you originally heard it, e.g. from audio media, or from other players?
- Do you select a key for that piece to practice by just pulling the music from your memory?
- Assuming you can equally play in the most common accordion keys, do you always perform the piece in the key you learned it?

 

[JeffJetton]

If it's a simple folk tune or something (e.g., Happy Wanderer), then I'll just put it in any arbitrary, not-to-difficult key.

For anything more complex, I usually transcribe from a particular recorded version and will try to stick to that key. Although if it's in an awkward key, or a key that makes it difficult to pull off on a 72-bass, or if I intend to have another instrument play along with me (like violin) that "suits" certain keys better than others, I've been known to change it.

I mean, who wants to play anything in D flat?

 

[nou]

When I play a cover of a well established tune/song on a fully chromatic instrument I’ll play it as heard, otherwise it sounds off to me. On a limited instrument I’ll play in the closest key that fits or not at all if it sounds too far off. If I play a folk tune that I heard played differently by different players, I’ll interpret it my way, which often means transposing it down, as I like to use the lowest basses available.

 

[daveburkevt]

I used to try to be loyal to the original key, but now I change the key to use the range that sounds best on my accordion.

 

[debra]

I always consider the original key first. I work with recordings because you can replay fragments as often as you like to capture everything that was played. Sometimes however I do transpose a song. This can be because a small change can help a lot (like with Dvorak's Humoresque number 7, which I arranged in G major rather than the original G flat major) or when a small change can help to fit the song on the 41-key range (low F to high A) of small (i.e. full size piano) accordions.

 

[CC_PDX]

If I'm playing a request by ear on a tune I've never played before, I tend to defer to the original for the key (if I happen to know what it is), but am happy to transpose it for singers, other players. Sometimes I just play something I know in a different key to break habits or see what changes it spurs in my interpretation--often preferring the results or ergonomic advantages.

 

[Plinky]

Hi Beemer
The rule of thumb as a working musician ,was find the lowest note and that's your key.
I will transpose into a key I'm most comfortable with,and in folk music playing triplets on a black notes 321
may well be possible but I think it's impractical.

I certainly don't subscribe to this belief that the general public have Perfect Pitch ,they recognise the melody and hook
most of them think a key is something that gets then into the house


I think traditionally in classical music it's frowned upon to transpose ,but one could argue if something is written specifically for the idiosyncrasies of an instrument that in itself is a form "transposition" in Baroque times some instruments were pitched differently
How many pieces of music have ever been written ,where the composer didn't factor in the instruments it was going to be played on.

I believe Bach’s Air original key was transposed down,so violinists could then play the whole tune on just one of the violin’s strings "Air on the G String"
Personally I have never worked with a musician that had the ability to play in all keys, with the same competency.
Mozart ,Bach etc they all have favoured keys ,but as they are musical God's it may well have been choice

 

[wirralaccordion]

Hi Beemer
The rule of thumb as a working musician ,was find the lowest note and that's your key.
I will transpose into a key I'm most comfortable with,and in folk music playing triplets on a black notes 321
may well be possible but I think it's impractical.

I certainly don't subscribe to this belief that the general public have Perfect Pitch ,they recognise the melody and hook
most of them think a key is something that gets then into the house


I think traditionally in classical music it's frowned upon to transpose ,but one could argue if something is written specifically for the idiosyncrasies of an instrument that in itself is a form "transposition" in Baroque times some instruments were pitched differently
How many pieces of music have ever been written ,where the composer didn't factor in the instruments it was going to be played on.

I believe Bach’s Air original key was transposed down,so violinists could then play the whole tune on just one of the violin’s strings "Air on the G String"
Personally I have never worked with a musician that had the ability to play in all keys, with the same competency.
Mozart ,Bach etc they all have favoured keys ,but as they are musical God's it may well have been choice

Re "the rule of thumb" above I think it's the last note ( not the lowest note ) that determines the key, the reason being that most pieces finish on "Doh"

 

[Plinky]

Re "the rule of thumb" above I think it's the last note ( not the lowest note ) that determines the key, the reason being that most pieces finish on "Doh"

Hi Wirral for melody lowest,for singing highest

An example is something like Clementi Sonata "A Groovy Kind of Love"it's in G but a friend likes to play it in D (fiddle) ​

lowest note of the melody is B but resolves to D​

I play a 48 bass so I find the lowest-ish melody note away from the dusty end ,and that's my key
And It has to be in A,C,D,F,G

 

[Ed S]

Do folks on a stradella accordion sometimes pick a key based on the the left hand - for instance, to avoid a note in a melodic phrase going the wrong way - an octave up or down from the intended note?

 

[Plinky]

Do folks on a stradella accordion sometimes pick a key based on the the left hand - for instance, to avoid a note in a melodic phrase going the wrong way - an octave up or down from the intended note?

Hi Ed thats exactly what I do ,and judging by all the folk players I've watched that's what they all do.
I do understand the limitations of a 48 bass accordion if one looks at it purely from how many keys you can play in,

But my DVD has arrived ,the chap that's giving me lessons plays a little bit of folk but he's primarily a jazz player
And he said the cuts and triplets ,syncopated bass I would probably get more out of the DVD
I think I will probably need about 30 years