Question for people who want Maiden to tune down

[MrKnickerbocker]

Is the question whether the whole band and Bruce raise the key? Cause he already can't sing some of the high stuff, he certainly won't sound better higher.

Or is the question whether Bruce would sound better 3 1/2 keys lower, but it would sound like mud, so the band tunes up and Bruce sings down? Cause that would sound atrocious.

Everyone has keys in which they sound better, but at the end of the day Bruce's only vocal issue is age. It is simply not possible to hit the same notes as he did 30-40 years ago with the same intensity and consistency throughout a tour. So, in theory, let's say Bruce sings Hallowed Be Thy Name better in the key of D (instead of it's normal E tuning) but the band doesn't want to drop tune by a full step, he's still going to sound better singing it in Eb (half step down) because there would be less strain on his voice and he's a professional, seasoned vocalist.

 

[Collin]

Is the question whether the whole band and Bruce raise the key? Cause he already can't sing some of the high stuff, he certainly won't sound better higher.

Or is the question whether Bruce would sound better 3 1/2 keys lower, but it would sound like mud, so the band tunes up and Bruce sings down? Cause that would sound atrocious.

Everyone has keys in which they sound better, but at the end of the day Bruce's only vocal issue is age. It is simply not possible to hit the same notes as he did 30-40 years ago with the same intensity and consistency throughout a tour. So, in theory, let's say Bruce sings Hallowed Be Thy Name better in the key of D (instead of it's normal E tuning) but the band doesn't want to drop tune by a full step, he's still going to sound better singing it in Eb (half step down) because there would be less strain on his voice and he's a professional, seasoned vocalist.

3 1/2 keys is way too low. Eb would sound good. The songs are going to sound a little more depressing too.

 

[srfc]

Is the question whether the whole band and Bruce raise the key? Cause he already can't sing some of the high stuff, he certainly won't sound better higher.

The question wasn't a genuine suggestion to begin with, I had the ulterior motive of trying to out people as being more interested in heaviness than they are in helping Bruce's voice.

I'm no expert in singing or musical keys but bands in other genres often use capos to be able to play in a key that suits the singer so I was suggesting if that was a hypothetical option would people prefer that or would they rather Maiden stay in the normal keys. I suspected no one would want this to happen

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

The question wasn't a genuine suggestion to begin with, I had the ulterior motive of trying to out people as being more interested in heaviness than they are in helping Bruce's voice.

I'm no expert in singing or musical keys but bands in other genres often use capos to be able to play in a key that suits the singer so I was suggesting if that was a hypothetical option would people prefer that or would they rather Maiden stay in the normal keys. I suspected no one would want this to happen

Gotcha. The thing about capos is that they only raise the key, which is definitely not what Maiden needs.

I could care less about the band being heavier, I just want Bruce to sing well for as long as he can without sounding strained. Dropping the tuning would help that.

 

[The Garlon]

There's no shame in tuning down to preserve Bruce's voice. The band should realize this.

 

[chaosapiant]

Nah. Iron Maiden still sound fantastic with there current tuning. Bruce sounds great and everything is fine. They absolutely should have played down a step for Blaze, however. His solo renditions of Maiden songs all sound phenomenal.

 

[Byron Maiden]

Nah. Iron Maiden still sound fantastic with there current tuning. Bruce sounds great and everything is fine. They absolutely should have played down a step for Blaze, however. His solo renditions of Maiden songs all sound phenomenal.

Agreed, and if they didn't do it then they certainly wont do it now when they don't need to! There are certain songs that I imagine would sound awesome with a downtune or two but then that's what cover versions are for

 

[Cat Milk Supreme]

So, in theory, let's say Bruce sings Hallowed Be Thy Name better in the key of D (instead of it's normal E tuning) but the band doesn't want to drop tune by a full step, he's still going to sound better singing it in Eb (half step down) because there would be less strain on his voice and he's a professional, seasoned vocalist.

I don't have a lot of music theory but this sounds like what I have been thinking for a while. It has always puzzled me why he strains when he does. It doesn't sound great and surely he recognises this. Maybe he doesn't want to admit 'defeat.' He still has a great and powerful voice when used in a certain way and I think he would be better if he focused on his strengths. I find him hard to listen to at times and often get frustrated when he sounds bad (to my ears) cos I know how good (to my ears) he can be.
I will say that my problems with Bruce are almost exclusively based on live recordings (Youtube or official); I have never come away from a live gig thinkin that he was anything less than phenomenal.

 

[MindlessPieces]

I'm no expert in singing or musical keys but bands in other genres often use capos to be able to play in a key that suits the singer so I was suggesting if that was a hypothetical option would people prefer that or would they rather Maiden stay in the normal keys. I suspected no one would want this to happen

I don't think I'd care. Maybe if I heard them play in a different key then I might have an opinion on it.
I don't have perfect pitch, I have relative pitch, so I probably wouldn't even notice unless I tried to play along and then I'd notice that either they are in a different tuning or my guitar is seriously out of tune.

I've never played with a capo before, but what does it matter is someone does or not?