Key Change

[tony parnham]

Hi John,
If you know there is a key change in an instrumental what I tend to do is as far as possible is make sure the fingering pattern is going to be the same. What I mean is instead of learning a new note pattern for the key change just shift the same pattern you played in the lower key up to the new key. The worst one for this that I've done is the Waffles track 633 Squadron, it was a nightmare and a lot of changes with open strings. I eliminated the open strings and just kept moving the same pattern around. It really helps as you dont have to remember half as many notes.
Tony

[John Haldane]

Thanks to everyone for replies, my reason for asking was, there are songs that I think could make good instrumentals, but they can tend to repeat the same verse, so I thought by changing the key it would sound better.
Take care
John H

[Bluesnote]

I liked an old Clapton blues number(think he was in Derek and the Dominoes at the time) in which the solo started off in E7 G7 Bb7 Db7 to E7 again. Sounded just fine albeit a bit on the long side for a solo.
I think you can do it anywhere as long as your lead-in notes are correct.
That version of Take Five that was on here had a middle part added which came in a third higher than the original key. I do a middle part in mine but I only go up a semitone then back down again to come back into the melody again, it sounds fine to me.

You may be alluding to Layla with the riff in D minor but dropping back to the verse in C# minor and back to D minor for the riff and so on. Unlike other key changes, which are more obvious, this one's a cheeky one...

Martin.

No it was a slow blues song, I'm still sure it was on the Dereck and the Dominoes album I bought in the early seventies, one of these numbers that went on for ages.
Talking of Layla, that was tricky one for sure, I loved the way it could sound great as a rock number with a big solo but also just as good and totally different sounding as an acoustic number

[cockroach]

John H,

If you are looking to create instrumnetal versions of say, vocal tunes, you can vary the approach by repeating the verse and/or chorus melody by playing it an octave higher or lower to give some variety, or of course, just appropriately change to another key , for say, an improvised solo, or a chorus or bridge...