# Why do music parodies not always use the same key as their bases? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 28, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-music-parodies-not-always-use-the-same-key-as-their-bases/242391 "2004-04-28T00:17:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-music-parodies-not-always-use-the-same-key-as-their-bases/242391/1 "2004-04-28T00:17:28Z")
Something I’ve noticed in the past: it seems to me that Weird Al Yankovic’s song parodies have gotten closer and closer to the songs they were based on in terms of arrangement and key. In the past, and still now in some cases (like in “Family Guy’s” “U Can’t Touch This” parody), the parodies were deliberately in a different key, or used a slightly different arrangement. Yet there are still parodies out there that, except for the lyrics, sound almost exact (and in some cases, like “What if God Smoked Cannabis?”, the SINGER sounds exactly like Joan whoever). So why the different approaches? Parody is protected, isn’t it? And if some people can use identical sounding arrangements, why can’t they all? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-music-parodies-not-always-use-the-same-key-as-their-bases/242391/2 "2004-04-28T01:19:50Z")
Artistic license? Some of Weird Al’s early stuff is a little faster than the originals. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-music-parodies-not-always-use-the-same-key-as-their-bases/242391/3 "2004-04-28T03:17:03Z")
Parody is NOT protected. They still need permission. If they don’t get it or can’t afford it, they change it enough to make a lawsuit iffy. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-music-parodies-not-always-use-the-same-key-as-their-bases/242391/4 "2004-04-28T03:35:36Z")
Actually **lissener** , it doesn’t seem like lawsuits would be in the cards, at least according to [Cecil](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_324b.html). ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-music-parodies-not-always-use-the-same-key-as-their-bases/242391/5 "2004-04-28T03:35:41Z")
Also, unless you have absolute pitch (which is rare) or an incredible musical education (rarer), it would be very difficult for you to determine if a song is played in different keys in different versions, unless you heard them back to back. Most songs are sung in different keys by different people; we have different vocal ranges, and some songs sound better in one key or the other, depending on the singer. I had to have a song transcribed into “my” key when I sang at a wedding a few years ago. You’re probably referring to the common practice of changing the _melody_ as well as the lyrics for a parody without permission. Can’t think of any widely known instances, but MadTV did it a couple years ago with a HYlarious parody of the “Lady Marmalade” video. Coudn’t afford the song, so they wrote a barely disguised “version” of it and let the visuals do most of the talking. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-music-parodies-not-always-use-the-same-key-as-their-bases/242391/6 "2004-04-28T03:37:37Z")
Well **Eo** , if you notice he doesn’t give a definitive answer. And hasn’t Prince always prevented Weird Al from parodying his songs? or did I hear that wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-music-parodies-not-always-use-the-same-key-as-their-bases/242391/7 "2004-04-28T03:43:39Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Parody is NOT protected. They still need permission. If they don’t get it or can’t afford it, they change it enough to make a lawsuit iffy. That would make sense, but I can’t see how changing the key, or making the song just slightly different would make a lawsuit “iffy.” After all, the song is still completely recognizable. My guess as to the OPs question would be that sometimes the key is changed because the singer is more comfortable in a different key, or has trouble with the original one. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-music-parodies-not-always-use-the-same-key-as-their-bases/242391/8 "2004-04-28T03:45:29Z")
Ignore me. I spent too much time typing the above, and by the time I posted, it was redundant. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-music-parodies-not-always-use-the-same-key-as-their-bases/242391/9 "2004-04-28T03:47:19Z")
. . . except that 99 people out of a hundred wouldn’t be able to tell if it’s in a different key. I’m talking about changing it \*enough \* to avoid a lawsuit, but not too much so that your audience doesn’t know what you’re parodying. This is a pretty common practice on comedy shows. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-music-parodies-not-always-use-the-same-key-as-their-bases/242391/10 "2004-04-28T04:00:39Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Parody is NOT protected. They still need permission. If they don’t get it or can’t afford it, they change it enough to make a lawsuit iffy. Do you have a cite for this? Specifically referring to Weird Al, I know he always TRIES to get permission, and I believe he CHOOSES to only release things with permission (he does other material in his live shows), but I don’t believe he NEEDS permission. > [@](#): > > From Weird Al’s [FAQ](http://www.weirdal.com/faq.htm): > > \*\*Does Al get permission to do his parodies? \*\* > > Al does get permission from the original writers of the songs that he parodies. _While the law supports his ability to parody without permission_, he feels it’s important to maintain the relationships that he’s built with artists and writers over the years. Plus, Al wants to make sure that he gets his songwriter credit (as writer of new lyrics) as well as his rightful share of the royalties. > > . . . > > **What about Coolio? I heard that he was upset with Al about "Amish Paradise."** > > That was a very unfortunate case of misunderstanding between Al’s people and Coolio’s people. Short version of the story: Al recorded “Amish Paradise” after being told by his record label that Coolio had given his permission for the parody. _When Al’s album came out, Coolio publicly contended that he had never given his blessing, and that he was in fact very offended by the song._ To this day we’re not exactly sure who got their facts wrong, but Al sincerely apologizes to Coolio for the misunderstanding. Also, **lissener** , Prince has, apparently, turned Al down several times over the years, but I don’t think he CAN prevent him from doing parodies. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-music-parodies-not-always-use-the-same-key-as-their-bases/242391/11 "2004-04-28T04:30:23Z")
Hmm. From Cecil’s column cited above: > [@](#): > > So why negotiate at all? Mainly because the law dictates higher royalty rates and stricter payment schedules for compulsory licenses than you can obtain with the negotiated kind. So it’s way cheaper to pay a staff writer to make up something than to pay royalties on the original. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-music-parodies-not-always-use-the-same-key-as-their-bases/242391/12 "2004-04-28T05:00:21Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Hmm. From Cecil’s column cited above: So it’s way cheaper to pay a staff writer to make up something than to pay royalties on the original. But we’re not talking about the original, we’re talking about a parody. Are you still standing by your assertion that parody is not covered under copyright? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-music-parodies-not-always-use-the-same-key-as-their-bases/242391/13 "2004-04-28T05:38:30Z")
Weird Al himself did say, I believe, that his Michael Jackson parodies were deliberately in a different key, because he couldn’t manage the original range. ---
**Author:** ![nifferka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@nifferka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nifferka)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-music-parodies-not-always-use-the-same-key-as-their-bases/242391/14 "2004-04-28T06:33:28Z")
Forbidden Broadway does pretty exact parodies–I mean, if you weren’t paying attention to the words, you’d think it was the original–except for Andrew Lloyd Webber songs, which they change slightly 'cause they can’t get permission. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2004, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-music-parodies-not-always-use-the-same-key-as-their-bases/242391/15 "2004-04-28T07:07:06Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Weird Al himself did say, I believe, that his Michael Jackson parodies were deliberately in a different key, because he couldn’t manage the original range. That would make sense for most key alterations, I think. MJ’s “Bad” is in the key of A minor, and Al’s “Fat” is a minor third lower than that, in the key of F# minor.