Note: songs with ranking “777” were formerly in the Top 100, but no longer make the cut. We chose to leave these songs on the list to provide the additional information.
[table “7” not found /]
Criteria for determining congregationally friendly keys:
- The range should fit an average singer. The highest note should be a D with an occasional Eb allowable. The lowest note should be an A.
- For songs with a small range that could be sung in a wide range of keys, the character of the song and the composer’s original key were considered to preserve the intended feel of the song.
- Songs with a high tessitura may be pitched a bit lower even if the top note is a D.
- A few songs on the list have ranges beyond the scope of an average singer (noted with a ** beside the title). Those key suggestions are noted in parentheses with the best key(s) possible with the understanding that there are outliers in the melody.
- I did not list choice keys in C# or F#, but if choice keys are on either side of one of these, you can certainly choose those keys.
