Does this make any sense?-Sheet Music Question

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 11/3/05 at 8:15pm

I just got the sheet music to "Green Finch and Linnet Bird" from Sweeney Todd, which I'm using for an upcomign audition. So I start playing my accompaniment, and I realize something-they lowered the key. I play it in the original key by ear and realize something-They lowered teh song for the shet music from the key of F to the key of Db. Does that make any sense? F is easier to play, and makes it more of a Soprano song, rather than the key of Db, which makes it less of a Soprano sogn and MUCH harder to play. Can anyoen explain?

[Prisoner 24601]

Posted: 11/3/05 at 11:24pm

I was looking at the sheet music for it one day and also noticed that the notes looked too low to be in the original key. Very weird. How high does the original key go? They may have lowered it so that the singer doesn't sing that high. I have no idea though.

[gumbo2]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 12:03am

This is one of my biggest pet peeves. More often than not in songbooks and stuff they lower the key. Example...my 42nd Street revival book, ALL the keys are lowered...Les Miz, just about all of them are lowered. It really makes me mad. So yes, that makes sense to me, and I'm sorry that it's in a different key, I really hate that.

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 11/4/05 at 12:06am

Yeah, I hate that. Even more annoying is when they change the lyrics so the song will work better out of context (i.e. in the 1776 vocal score, "Is Anybody There?" is practically a different song).

[Prisoner 24601]

Posted: 11/7/05 at 9:37pm

If you need the higher key, MFL, its in F in "The Singer's Musical Theatre Anthology Volume I".

[allamarane]

Posted: 11/7/05 at 9:46pm

The song is originally in F, which makes the highest note a G.

[Isabella2]

Posted: 11/7/05 at 10:07pm

That's funny. I have green finch and linnet bird too, but it's in F. Where'd you ge yours from?

[roquat]

Posted: 11/8/05 at 11:02am

I've noticed this too--in one of the "Sondheim treasuries" "Not While I'm Around" is taken down so low it becomes a bass solo--it misled me into thinking I could try out for Tobias in the show! For some reason, the thinking in "vocal selection" books is that lower is always better--they have very little savvy about where people's voices naturally sit. Just ask anyone who's tried to sing "Maybe This Time" from the popular Kander and Ebb AND THE WORLD GOES ROUND vocal selection book--it gets turned into a mezzo-soprano aria! No woman can possibly sing that without making her chest/head break REALLY obvious!

[Sporti2005]

Posted: 11/8/05 at 12:00pm

in the singer's musical theatre anthology it is in the original key, with the highest note being a G.

i love that all the songs in there are in the original keys :)

[StephanietheStar]

Posted: 11/8/05 at 12:09pm

The Crazy For You vocal selection has all outrageously high keys, as well as the Chicago vs...

It sucks because I want to sing Crazy for You in Jodi Benson's key, and they are all like 3 steps higher in the book...which makes them really high for most people.