Finding The Right Key For Leading Worship Songs

I have recently been teaching some new worship leaders how to pick the correct key for leading worship. Here is what has been most helpful for them.

First question: What is your vocal range? 

I recommend you go to a piano after your voice is warmed up and do some scales up and down till you find your strongest range. Here is a chart with the usual vocal ranges. (Although each voice has its own strengths and weaknesses.)

Second question: What is the vocal range of the worship song?

Here is where I find that SongSelect.ccli.com is of great value. If you have this subscription, go to the lead sheet of the song of choice. Songselect’s default key is often a good key for your congregation (although not always).

Look through the song to determine what the top and bottom note of the melody is. Some songs have a small range (6th) while others have a huge range (12th or more). 

(from two FB comments)… Also, sometimes it’s not just the range but how often the notes are in that range. So a few high D or E notes is ok but not several in a row and the same with the lower range. If the melody lives on a D and peaks at an E then I should lower it.

After you have determined where the song falls in your range, transpose it (using the transpose function) and try singing it through in your key of choice. (Note: Make sure you are standing up and singing with your full abilities and breathe support). SongSelect has a great function where you can push the play button and it will play the melody for you to sing-a-long with.

If you’re an alto worship leader, I would recommend that you change the key so that your top note is either an A or Bb. If the song has a huge range, you might have to occasionally make C your top note.

If you’re a soprano worship leader, I would recommend that you make the top note in the C-D range. (Depending on the vocal range of the song)

If you’re a baritone worship leader, I would recommend that you make the top note either a C# or D (occasionally D# or E with songs of a huge range)

If you’re a tenor worship leader, I would recommend you make the top note in the D-F range.

Note: Occasionally I work with tenor worship leaders that can sing high Bb’s comfortably. In those rare cases, I put them in the same range as alto worship leaders.

Third question: What is the vocal range of my congregation?

Generally speaking, congregations sing the best and loudest in the Bb-D range. (Rule of D).  When I lead for ladies only worship times I lower that range to G-Bb. When I lead for men’s events I use the Rule of D (Bb-D or E).

There has been some debate about what is the best key for congregations because of the strength of many tenor leaders. Here is where you need to know your congregation. Younger and more vibrant groups are often used to singing with the radio and can adapt to singing in almost any key or range. They will sing along (up or down the octave, if they know the song) but as a general rule it won’t be in the best vocal range for the majority to sing it loud.

In those situations (and with the right song), I would recommend that the tenor leader keep the top note in the E-F range. If it’s a strong worship and band environment the guys in the congregation will belt it out and the ladies will either sing it down the octave or go to a harmony part.

Note: Some of my favourite worship bands and leaders online sing in very high keys and I love to watch them because the quality of the vocals and the band.

Fourth question: What is the ability of your worship band?

What keys can your band play in? Can your band play in every key or are there keys that they are not comfortable wth. This can be a very relevant question for less experienced bands. Their preferences and abilities often determines whether you sing in sharp keys (G, D, E, A, B) or flat keys (F, Bb, Eb, Ab, Db). 

I personally like to challenge bands to learn to play in every key.

Fifth question: What are keys of the songs preceding and following that song. 

Some bands like to keep songs in the same key if possible, while other bands don’t mind changing the key to fit the range of the congregation and leader. If you’re going right into the next song without a song intro, then keeping the same key is important. But if you’re playing the songs intro, then changing keys should be no problem.

I personally like to change keys to get the maximum congregational singing volume for each song.

Final note: I hope this gives some basic ideas for helping you pick the best keys for your worship band and congregation. What have I missed? What do you agree or disagree with?

Please feel free to connect with me if you have any questions.