A Simple Guide to Transposition
There are many who worship God through music daily without any formal musical training whatsoever. Musical training is not required to be a worshiper. However, formal musical training, especially in music theory, does provide some advantages. One such advantage is the ability to transpose a song from one key to another with relative ease.
For those of you who haven’t had such training and find transposition to be tedious or difficult, here is a guide that will hopefully make the task much easier for you. Once you familiarize yourself with the following simple number system, you’ll be transposing like a pro in no time.
The basic premise of the number system is that the notes of a scale are like a series of numbers. Since most scales in Western music have seven notes, the numbers of a scale range from 1 to 7.
For example, the notes of a C Major scale are C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. If we assign the numbers 1 to 7 to these notes, then C=1, D=2, E=3, F=4, G=5, A=6, and B=7. When we get to the next C, it would not be counted as 8 but as 1.
To transpose, then, we simply need to figure out what the notes are of the key we are transposing to and match the numbers of the new key to the numbers of the old key. Use this transposition chart as a visual aid:
For instance, suppose we are trying to transpose to E Major. The notes in the E Major scale are E, F#, G#,A, B, C#, and D#. So in E Major, E=1, F#=2, G#=3, A=4, and so on.
If a chord progression in the original song in C Major is C, G, A minor, F, then we can match that progression to the corresponding numbers: 1-5-6-4. Now, all we have to do is find what 1-5-6-4 is in E Major and we’re done!
It just so happens that 1-5-6-4 in E Major is E, B, C#minor, A. That’s it! By matching the chords of the old and new keys to their numbers, we were able to transpose from C to E Major without much difficulty.
The more you use this number system, the more familiar it’ll become, and in time, it’ll feel like second nature to you. Most experienced musicians are able to transpose on the spot,almost by instinct, because they’re so familiar with this system, and the same will be true for you.
Two final comments. First, keepin mind that not all songs start on note #1; that is, not all songs in C Major start with a C major chord. Sometimes, songs start on 4, or 5, or something else.So, to identify the key of a song, you can’t always tell simply by looking at the first chord. To be sure, look at all the chords and make sure they match with the chord set for that key.
For example, if you think a songis in C Major because it starts with a C chord, but later on you see a D major chord in the song, chances are the song is in G Major and not C Major because CMajor doesn’t have a D major chord in it, while G Major does.
Finally, if you’re wondering if there’s a particular order of major and minor chords in a scale, there is. It’s not crucial to know this, but it may be helpful. In major keys, the order is 1 (major), 2 (minor), 3 (minor), 4 (major), 5 (major), 6 (minor), 7 (diminished). Don’t worry about the 7 diminished chord; it’s rarely ever used in worship music.
So what are you waiting for? Dive into the wonderful world of transposition! No more singing songs in ridiculously high or low keys. Your vocal chords (and the vocal chords of all the people you lead in worship) will thank you for it!