Choosing the Right Key for Your Song

I'm not going to spend a ton of time on this topic, but rest assured, it is a very important one.  Have you ever tried to sing your favorite song from the radio, your mp3 player, or whatever and find your voice isn't quite up to the challenge?  It's frustrating, right?  So, you probably just give up and think, "I can't sing this one" and move on to something else.

Here's a little known secret: the real reason you probably can't sing the song is because it's not in the right key for you.  That's not to say with a little practice and working with a skilled vocal coach you could never sing it in that key.   But why waste the time and energy when you can just try it in a different key and experience much faster success?

Many times, I work with clients who do not want to change the key of the song they are attempting to sing because they view it as exposing their weakness or something.  I don't see it that way at all.  I think changing the key to fit your voice as a singer plays to your strengths.  So, never be afraid to do it, especially if it allows you to sound better, pretty much instantly!

I am also learning this lesson in my own life.  I'm currently in the songwriting stage for upcoming music projects and am very mindful (this time around) about the keys that I write my music in.  Not only do I need to be able to sing them skillfully when it's time to record, but I also need to make sure the keys of my songs will sound great when I have to perform them over and over again to a live audience.

One of my unreleased songs, "Faithful Father" started out in a higher key.  As I was piecing together lyrics and music, I decided to lower the key a half step, just to see what it sounded like.  Voila!  It was like a different, much stronger singer performing.  The song found its perfect key and my voice found its best sound.

So the next time you're tempted to give up on a hard song, do me a favor and try it out in a different key.  Lower it or raise it depending on your needs.  I bet it will make all the difference!

Happy Singing!


For more tips like these, and a structured program to get you singing at your best, check out my book Ten Weeks to a Better Voice here.

Dreaming and Doing

2016 feels like a banner year already!

For those of you who don't know, I recently released my debut music project Make Something Happen into the world.  It became available digitally several weeks ago and on Wednesday of this week, I received my CDs in the mail.

(Here I am making a silly face, but I promise I was really excited about this!  If you would like to hear more about my project and the stories behind the songs, visit my website, www.kristinkingmusic.com)

Sometimes I can't even believe this project is out.  It was so much work, but truly work that I enjoyed doing every step of the way.  I especially enjoyed the 4 trips to Nashville I made in 2015, all related to my growing music business.

Make Something Happen is a project I'm so proud of because all of the songs are from the deepest places in my heart and soul.  If you want to know how I feel about God and life in general, listen to this project.  It feels like I'm wearing my "heart on my sleeve".  And I'm ok with that.

I will leave you with this because I think it's very appropriate to my life and my music in this season:

"The only way to do great work is to love what you do." -Steve Jobs

I am really loving what I'm doing!  Probably because I've been dreaming of doing it for a long, long time.

Tidings of Comfort and Joy

The holiday season is upon us.  I don't know about you, but it seems to me that this season has been especially poignant.  What I mean by that is my emotions have been on a roller coaster.  I think that stems from losing my grandma a month ago.  I have moments of sheer joy, like when I'm rocking my son to sleep and singing him Christmas songs.  And at other times, I can cry at the drop of a hat, like when I play through a piece of sheet music that has Nanny's distinctive writing on it.

It seems this year my highs have been higher and my lows have been lower.

I'm not complaining because I do think this is part of experiencing life to the fullest, but it can be exhausting to run the gamut of emotions I've been feeling.

Nothing feels more like true comfort and joy than some good 'ole Christmas music.  On a whim, I bought two digital Christmas albums in the same day-- the whole albums!  They are Michael W. Smith's The Spirit of Christmas and Pentatonix' That's What Christmas Means to Me.  They do not disappoint.  I highly recommend them both to bring you much comfort and joy during this season.

I thought I would take a post to tell you about some of my favorite Christmas songs and why I love them.

"Jingle Bells"- I don't know what it is about this silly song, but it's Christmas personified if you ask me.  My kids at school just love it.  We perform it many different ways.  The 4th graders are learning to play it on their recorders.  The 1st graders can play it on xylophones.  The other grades have experimented with jingle bells and just their voices.  And I learned a fun arrangement of the song on piano this year.

"Still, Still, Still"- This is such a beautiful Austrian carol that I discovered a couple of years ago when I was a high school chorus teacher.  As soon as I heard it, I knew we had to learn it for our holiday concert.  I had my ensemble group perform the song, and it brought tears to my eyes.  It's one of those songs that will always transport me back to that special time in my life.  Try to find a version of a choir singing this song.  It's sure to touch you.

"O Holy Night"-  I don't know what it is about this hymn/ song.  It's magic.  I wonder if the Frenchmen who penned it realized that back in the 1800's or John Sullivan Dwight, the man who translated it into English.  Any version of this song is good in my book.  But last year, it became especially meaningful to me.  I was asked to sing it at my church on Christmas Eve.  I was excited to perform it, but grew concerned as the date came closer and I was struggling with losing my voice.  The day before, I almost asked the directors to replace me because I was almost sure I couldn't sing it.  But, I prayed for strength and sang it any way.  Below is a link to that performance.  Even though it's not perfect, it stands out as one of my proudest performances.

I pray that you will find much comfort and joy as you spend time with those who mean the most to you this holiday season.

Do you have a favorite Christmas song?  If so, I would love to hear what it is in the comments below.