#Learning music keys full#

Although otherwise identical, the D key sounded more uplifing (as was the argument of the site). I wish I could find it now but can't seem to-I found a website which played a piece of piano music, first in C and then in D as a comparison.

#Learning music keys full#

Glastonbury is full of books about how music affects the different body areas. Some keys resonate more with us, because as humans we have a natural resonant frequency (different for everyone), but there is a notion that lower frequencies affect certain areas of the body, higher frequencies others ('feel it in your chest' vs. Having jammed with lots of people, men singing songs originally by women generally need it transposed down by a few semitones or more, and the opposite applies, but also some huys/girls can reach notes that others can't. Vocalists have a comfortable range, for example there's a big difference between men and women in this respect, or just voice type. Other keys are more difficult like Eв™-you can't use many open strings and you're one semitone below the lowest (traditional) guitar note, so you can't get a deep mellow note/sound so easily. You could play it in other keys but it wouldn't sound the same. Guitarists tend to write tunes based on this-e.g., Hendrix's вЂњVoodoo ChileвЂќ relies heavily on an open E string. On a Guitar, some keys are excellent to play in as they give you the advantage of open strings. On a keyboard, the key makes a difference to the fingering of the chords/melody. However when you come to play it, that's when it becomes more apparent. In music theory, you're probably right - for Western music it's the same scale just transposed up and down a given interval. Writing for a Bb clarinet (the key of a transposing instrument is a whole other can of worms that is related to, but distinct from, the keys you can have them play in) in Db is perhaps not the best idea since its lowest (sounding) pitch is D natural. Writing for cello in B-major is often frustrating because, without detuning the instrument, the lowest possible note is a C. I'm sure other answers will talk about other important considerations, but that's a sampling.Д®DIT: Oh, and I should add that all instruments have a lowest possible note, and most have either a highest possible, or at least a highest standard range of notes. For instance, non-pianists are often surprised to see that F# and C# Major/minor are relatively common keys for solo literature, but it makes sense because those keys tend to feel nice under the fingers-especially when the thumb can just play the occasional white key while the other fingers stick largely to the black keys. Some keys fall under the hands more easily than others on the piano. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Ab and Eb Major tend to sound a little dull and muddled on those instruments. This is because the open-strings of these instruments are Es, As, D, Gs and Cs, and all of these open strings will vibrate sympathetically with the notes that tend to be used the most in those keys. As a general rule, orchestral string instruments will sound much bigger and richer in keys like D-Major, A-Major and, to a slightly lesser extent, C-major and G-major.

Any vocalist will have keys that they tend to feel more comfortable and sound better in. The primary purpose of multiple keys is for modulation within a single piece, but yes, some instruments sound better or are easier to play in some keys more than in others. You've hit the nail on the head in your second paragraph. The trombone, all non-fretted string instruments, and vocalists have more control over small variations and only have to be equal-tempered if they're playing with other instruments that don't have the flexibility.Д«ut that's fairly academic and theoretical. Wind instruments other than the trombone are built to be (mostly) equal tempered, but the players can bend pitches somewhat. The keys are only identical on equal-tempered instruments, but that's most modern western instruments like pianos.