Your advice on changing song keys to fit your voice is spot on. And when I was younger, I too strove to play what the audience wanted to hear. But I recently turned 60 and have been a gigging musician for over 43 years. There is almost NO "music" on TV or radio or in the record charts that I can stand to listen to much less cover. Oh, there is definitely good music being played and there are great songs being written. But you won't hear them from mainstream sources. And the average listener knows nothing of them. Therefore, at this time in my musical life, I perform covers that I like. If the audience and club owners like my show and want to hire me, that's great. If not, I'm fine with that to. But I have NO desire to chase after a constantly changing list of cookie cutter, shallow, pointless songs with no memorable melody whatsoever and meaningless lyrics.

I agree with you 100% and I’ve been criticized mostly by Musicians for changing the original key and that’s why I’m a solo artist at this point. I recently tried to make a go with another guitarist who insisted on us playing the original key and insisted I sing it of course I could not! He wasn’t willing to transpose his leads down to my key so that project was over quickly! Now I use a looper and issue resolved

Dude - you packed this full of great advice for anyone wanting to sing in front of anyone. I have been preaching key changing for 20 years lol. No body cares if you sing it well but they will hate it if you have to squeal to hit notes that are too high. My wife and I do an all-request show. No set list. We ask the closest person who their fav group, band or artist is and 99% of the time they will be surprised and give you a softball like The Eagles or Beatles and then you knock that out of the park and that gets other people thinking and you will have suggestions for the rest of the night. Loved this video man!

I thought I was a baritone for most of my life until I worked with a voice person. I teach so I worked with a choir teacher twice and learned so much. I have covers grouped by decade of release to help with finding songs people might relate to.

30 seconds in and you have hit the nail on the head, ACDC sums it up. I'm a Baritone and I tune down to D or Even C #on some songs as the majority I find are are written for Tenors, but that doesn't mean the will sound worse if in a lower key. Thanks for this video 👍🏻

Your humility and honesty is refreshing.

You're so cool. At 67, I'm back out performing again. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Great video. I wish others would do videos like this. It is so important to stay within your vocal range. It sounds horrible when people think they can do Neil Young or similar when they don't have the voice for it. Changing the key can change the feel of the song so it's easier to make it your own.

As soon as I hear sweet Caroline I'm closing my tab and leaving the pub

If there ever was a video for the "Common" singer/guitar player-This is it!! Thank you!

Amie and Drift Away... oh yes. I'm adding them to my repertoire.

Thanks for saying what I've always been thinking. I play most of what's on your top ten and so this video confirms I AM going in the right direction.

I grew up playing music with my family. We would always play and sing Amie when we would have a family jam session and it was always a fun tune. I like your list.

What you tell in the video is exactly me... tried to sing tenor for years despite being a baritone. I'm so much happier now after I accepted that and my singing is a lot better. Thanks for sharing!

What’s impressive is doing everything you said without a cheat sheet (iPad). 3-4 hour shows, read the room, switch up, take requests, no iPad. That’s an entertainer.

The first song I ever learned on guitar was "Batman" from the 1960s show with Burt Ward and Adam West.

Great honest advice. I aim to play songs that others don’t cover and basically disregard requests because I am there to bring differences. I tune down to D and Eb on my guitars to help with pitch and tone. So many ways to play every song; this is another one of those unique differences we can share.

Don’t just change the key. Rearrange the song to fit your style, your voice, your skill level on your instrument, everything. I tend to use a cubist approach. Reduce the song to the most basic chord progression and build it from there. If someone doesn’t like it, let them do it.

Kudos for doing this - from another baritone voiced solo performer. Also, two of my three guitars I keep tuned down a semitone or two. Half of your favotites list is the same as mine; thanks for the additional suggesttions.

You mentioned changing the key from Dobie Gray's version of Drift Away so I wondered what key the original version by Mike Berry was in and I was astounded to find that they are both in the same key. Pro singers always song in whatever key is best for them so I expected them to be different.

I've just stumbled upon your channel, Justin, really like what you're doing here, thanks. Could you please do a 'how to play' video for Sweet Caroline, including the intro that you play here from 4:30, thanks.

you definitely don';t want to end up singing 75% of your songs in one key though. It's like that guy who is trying to sell his piano tutorials on KZfaq by saying he can teach anyone to play the piano and play tens of thousands of songs in only a few days by learning only four chords. He just transposes everything into C (or G) and thinks that's it. The thing is that there is more to a key (or pitch) than just a letter. For example , a song in B is different from a song in A in many subtle ways that will be lost when transposing to A (most notably in the actual melody whether it is sung or played). I understand this makes it easier or possible to expand a repertoire of songs one can perform. I would encourage people to try to play songs in their original key, as long as it won't hurt your voice (and I think this is what this guying is talking about here). It's just good to learn to play those songs that are in A flat , in A flat. It makes your a much for proficient player and performer. Because even if the audience doesn't consciously recognize the difference, their minds will notice the changes in tension and subtle tonic shift.

I have 88 songs that I can play from memory… chords and lyrics… I play em all in the original key because it’s recognizable.

I changed the key on a song, sang it in public, and got a compliment from a couple that came up after my set. "How did you hit that really high note at the end?" They didn't know or care that I had dropped it a step and a half. Solid advice. I also like playing in open D, at times, and I use capos. All solid advice, and nice list! I do a few, but am always looking for new ideas of songs I can do. Thanks for the advice, and keep on keeping on!

Just liked and subscribed. Good job young man.😊

Nice video. Thanks! Say, what is that beautiful guitar you’re playing here?

I played Amie for 30 years and grew to hate that song but everybody loved it

This is a really valuable video! I’ll incorporate (steal) much of it and play out even more…now that I’ve hit 80!!! You might appreciate hearing my Travis picking arrangements of Staying Alive and Africa (Toto). The real crowd pleaser though is What’s Up (Four Non-Blondes and Can’t Help Falling In Love with You. Thank you for a great video!

This was such great advice, I had my first gig in twenty years, started and ended the gig with sweet caroline and killed !

Hi...Thanks for the info..been playing since I was 13 now 69 in a band. I play because I love it. But do not play for others, sorta play for myself. I finger pick, slide, solo and am probally a pretty accomplisher player. People say play me a song, since I play in a band, playing singles has not been my things, but could do it.. I probally know a 200 songs. but will freeze and do not know any songs when asked to play.... This info you provided will help me when forced to entertain a group. Thanks

What really made a huge difference in approaching my own voice were two things I heard from absolutely amazing vocalists: First one was somebody with the greatest dark, resonating, smooth but raspy bass, telling me that he spent many years beating himself up over not being able to sing his favorite hair metal high and higher tenor stuff. So it was a man with a beautiful voice, basically complaining about not having another style of great voice. You don't want the things you have, you want the things you want. Get over it. And second one was a vocal teacher who told me, that you shouldn't try to sing like somebody else. Find your own voice, because that't something absolutely unique. Nobody could ever sound like you. Because the other person just doesn't have your voice. It's yours and only yours so make something awesome with it that nobody else can make.

I'm very blessed. I started guitar 3.5 years ago. My guitar skills took off! But my VOCAL skills were better! Much better! I'm a BariTenor. I've always had a kinda decent voice...but once I started getting good at guitar, I pushed my vocals from chest to head voice and discovered that I can SING! Like 2 octaves + !! On Key, in tune...And then I tried Bee Gees just to see...and I'm at the top of my range with Andy Gibb!! I'm not cracking, and I'm hitting the notes...while playing. My comfort level is Gordon Lightfoot/John Denver/Bob Seger. All songs, no issues. Now my repotoire is 890 songs. I play for hours...Like I said, I'm SO blessed! My guitar skills need polishing, but I've got about 60 chords down now.

Im just getting into playing solo gigs and your suggestions are on point as well as some of the commented suggestions. When Im putting together a playlist, I try to keep in mind what type of venue it is and what type of crowd might be expected. I also play the oldies/classics - not only because I grew up with that genre of music but most of the audience is in that age group as well (I'm 61). And, lets be honest, they are usually the ones that have the tip $! UG has opened up a whole new world for me and playing!!! I also like to throw those "one hit wonders" in along the way. Keeping the "slow" songs to a minimum I think helps keeps your audience engaged. I try to stay away from the tunes that always get played a lot (Sweet Caroline/Brown Eyed Girl/Margaritaville, etc.) but if I feel in the mood, will play those. And being female gives me the advantage to do those female songs that dont usually get covered by the males (Brand New Key/Landslide/When Will I be Loved/Jolene, etc) I DO think trying to have 60 songs for a 3 hr gig is wayyyy too much tho... I target for 30-35

Thank you so much for this video. I've had UG Pro for a few months and hadn't played around with the features beyond making a a couple of play lists. I had no idea it will transpose for you - wow!

I've been covering Amie for Years! Love it!

Excellent! I use Ultimate Guitar and have the PRO version...but, never used it. It looked complicated to use for this old guy. Well, after watching you, it doesn't look complicated at all. I'll be giving it a try. And instead of making all the PDF's myself, gonna try getting a program what will use Guitar Ulitmates format and works seamlessly with it. I already do most of the songs you do (there's a reason they are popular, eh?) Tho, I've got hundreds of songs I'll have to re-do, pffffftttt...;) Really enjoyed your video. That teaching gig seems to have translated well to this format. Great job :)

Of all the great Van Morrison songs, Brown -eyed Girl is the last song anyone should play.

Yes!! Did you hear Chris Stapleton version of I hope you dance by Leeann womak? Could you imagine him singing it like Leeann womack😂😂😂 he did a phenomenal job of a cover

Exactly!! Find those songs that are a good fit for you.

Great video. Thanks. I disagree with your advice about stopping your gig because some"one" requested a tune you're not prepared for. You'd have lost the crowd for stopping to retune. You can't win that one.

that's wild, thunderstruck was the first song I learned too! I was 12 or 13 and this older kid at school told me about tablature. thunderstruck was in the first guitar magazine I ever bought. so I had to figure out tablature and then the song.

Amazingly helpful video. You definitely earned my sub. And I will be watching your page consistently. I am an old school solo acoustic artist and I still deal with a book with sheet music in front of me. Time to get hit with The Times Thank you again, very informative video.

When I first started playing in the self taught rock and roll of the 1960's people who played but were musical primitives thought that if a song was in a certain key then anything else was wrong - they didn't really understand about key changes. So bands would play a lot of the same songs from some famous guy if their vocalist had a similar voice range. Another factor is when they make up guitar licks etc to record a song they are usually in the easiest manner possible to play them. For example Pretty Woman by Roy Orbison has an iconic lick in E that isn't too hard but if you changed it to say Bb that would be a little trickier.

You got my life at John Fogarty, proud mary, run though the jungle..CCR & back in black are what I cut my teeth on.vgood vid bro

Thanks for the tips-keep struming!

Excellent advice!

Love this video and just subbed! I am also a baritone who used to sing the lower register with a guy who sang higher when we harmonized, but I struggled on a lot of stuff in the original key. I am now starting to learn some songs on my own to be a solo performer. My question is do you drop all of these songs down to fit your range?

I'm a flippin' Contralto. Don't expect me to sing Soprano. I end up writing my own. ~ 🌺

I'm the same, Key songs to suit your range. It's worth noting these days recording studios have the ability to auto tune vocals, maybe not so much in the old days but if your trying to sing as good as a recorded song that might have taken weeks to record there is nothing wrong with reworking a song to suit you.

Thanks, I enjoyed this. BTW I don't think being a baritone is a" limitation" at all. What would a choir (other than maybe the Vienna Boys' choir) sound like without singers in all ranges? A full rich baritone sounds great (e.g. Lou Rawls, Pavarotti, etc.) and most high tenor singers can't do that, so...

Thanks for sharing keep it up🙏🫡

I am also a cover song musician, and I use OnSong on my iPad for my song library. I change keys a lot because I don't know all of the chords. I will often keep the original key but capo to the chords I do know. I am a tenor so the high notes aren't usually an issue, but trying to sing Johny Cash without changing the key is out of the question for me. I currently have about 600 songs that I can play and sing solo, and most of the songs you've shown in this video are among those I have. Thanks for the video, and for the reminders to play to your strengths and read your audience. Great job!

My most comfortable highest singing note coincides with an open top E string, so I play the melody in different keys, until I find the one that matches my range. I _can_ hit higher notes, but not every song. The song choices in this list are great, and absolutely, if you receive a request, try to play it. One of my rules is that I don't learn new songs: they need to have already matured into classics, so the audience will be familiar with them. Most importantly, "be entertaining"! I've seen so many people who can play and sing, but who don't realise that you have to sell the songs, and connect with the audience. To sell songs, I try to get into the zone like a method actor, and "become" the person narrating the song. My aim is to have the audience believe that I _really did_ shoot a man in Reno.

Great advise!! Also a Capo can be your best friend.

Very true. I used to have this thing about singing songs in its original key. I would try to do things i couldn't do. Trying to scream out high notes that didn't suit me didn't work. Its a bit like a girly girl trying to sing Johnny Cash songs with a strong masculine voice. I believe almost anyone can sing, as long as they don't try to be something that they're not.

Great advice!

Very practical and useful!! Thanks!

Brown eyed girl has drawn boos when my old cover band played it so we dropped it. Some songs people are sick of & i would probably put Sweet Caroline in the same bracket

I've been gigging for more years than I care to admit. OF course you should change the key to whatever fits your range. As far as a top10 - it changes with any gig but "when in doubt, play Beatles" always works. Oddly, I have found that 50's rock and roll works really well for college age AND YOUNGER! Go figure. FWIW, never use a fake book or whatever - it will clearly be apparent to the audience. LEARN THE SONG!!!

Thanks; here's another consideration: Sometimes the "original key" really isn't - the published guitar tab was transcribed to the key that sounds but not as played. What I mean is that a song written out as being in F# was quite likely played using E and capoed up two frets. Knowing this makes it a lot easier to find fills and leads. Sometime the original key really is necessary because of the way the melody falls out of thos chords but that's only sometimes. Also, the original artist may well have performed it in several keys depending on how their voice was responding that night. Bill Monroe was know for changing to a higher key to get that "high lonesome sound".

This is great. I've seen a couple solo artists do Oops I Did It Again, and it works if you wanna try it.

Great Vid!! You Rock!!

Justin, Your acoustic guitar sounds very good on this video and sounds like it has great action as well. What is it if I may ask? Just found and subbed your channel btw. :)

Great advice ! 😃

Good stuff. Good advice. I change key and feel on most of what I do now. New sub here. Aded you to my cover artists playlist. 🎸🎸

Great info bud !

Great video

New subscriber! Thanks Justin!

Audience: "Do you know Sweet Child of Mine "? Me: "Yes" Audience: "Play it!" Me "No"

If you are doing covers - you sing what you are best suited for, not what you like. That is kind of the difference between and ameteur and a pro, The pro knows what they are good at and then applies it. And no don't play a popular song if you can't sing it. The people that want to hear it, don't appreciate you butchering it. Resist doing stuff that people like but you are unable to sing.

Curious how you play Why Georgia. Mary Spender did a video on how it took her years to learn to play the song even passably and she had help from Paul Davids!

I would not play Jack & Diane at gunpoint. "suckin' on chili dogs outside the tasty freeze"

I live in Georgia too 😊

Rather heavy on the Beatles, which I Iike but? Anyway, Jack and Diane is fun to play but the words are terrible and I'm not one bit woke. It's just time to play Little Pink Houses or Hurt So Good and drop J&D. Other ideas that I like : Happy Together, Nature's Way, Rocky Mountain High, Give a Little Bit, Country Road(s)JT and JD, respectively, Sweet Baby James, Dock of the Bay

I tune to Eb. Still will change keys if needed.

Good advice

If anyone shouts out a tune to play, you should absolutely not play it at all.. we are not jukeboxes, even if it’s your best song, refuse it make them suffer

I do the same thing!!!

Are you using a desktop version of UG in this video? Can I use backing tracks on the iPhone app? Thanks!

I will never play Sweet Caroline, ugh. All the others are great choices.

This is so the issue I’m having as a baritone

What app do you use. I’ve used Onsong in the past but have read bad reviews about Onsong 2022

Trying to do anything Chris stapleton and I'm in trouble vocaly

I’ve been playing acoustic solo gigs for 30 years…the money has to be double, and at a private gig, for me to play a lot of those top songs from your list. No offense meant at all….I just can’t stomach hearing the crowd on Sweet Caroline….haha. And with a repertoire of 700 tunes (songbooks), I don’t need to play Eagles, John Mellencamp, etc. but everyone has a different approach and use of genres…. Great overview video of our lives as solo performers tho!!

Why would you have to re-tune your guitar for Little Lion Man? Standard tuning works fine

Can you Make an instrumental list for those of us who cant sing and only play guitar?

How could you change to music notation view? I'm only able to see the tab view :/

Always remember... The capo is your friend. You can change keys much easier.

Don't re-tune your guitar get a capo :)

Ok what if you don'e know the song the person is requesting? You can't stop the show and study the song they want and learn it, practice it and then sing it. I tell people I can play it if it is in my repetoir

Dude get some back up singers ,preferably females, if you can't hit the nut crusher notes. There are other uses for pitch shifters than just your guitar as well. I know some people frown on this, but for a cover song out of your range, who cares just use it. I did this for Brian Johnson, Sabastian Bach, Dexter Holland, Chris Cornell -RIP. You know the vocalists NOBODY sounds like. Now I don't recommend using one for original stuff, that would be lame and trying too hard. It's all about pleasing the crowd so changing the key isn't a terrible idea, but it never sounds right if it's more than a couple semitones.

Like get tips! 😎

What key did you transpose Jack & Diane to?

Very interesting. Where is the list for a bass voice? I don’t think there are any! I can play! I just can’t sing any of that!!!! Unless you want to go for opera🤔

I had Dio and Def Leppard at my wedding LOL.

Don’t forget to 2 15 minute breaks

most people are morons when it comes to music. Aside from dropping the range a dozen steps, you could truncate a long song, switch lyrics or add a bridge or solo or etc. and 99% of the audience wouldn't know the difference...

good advice from a singer, but you wobble and you should be strong....your a performer.. ............

Songs sung by tenors typically are beta male songs and so sound weird when sung in a low manly voice.

nice teeth! 🙂