quote:

Originally posted by Kysora I really do think there are differences, especially between key signatures containing flats and ones containing sharps.

So, are you suggesting that a piano piece written in C#-major will have a different mood or feel than the same song written in Db-major?

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quote:

Yeah, well, it's part of a trilogy, a musical trilogy that I'm doing in D... minor, which I always find is really the saddest of all keys, really, I don't know why. It makes people weep instantly to play...this piece is called "Lick My Love Pump."

- Nigel Tufnel (Spinal Tap)

Yes, there is a lot of debate over whether specific keys convey specific moods, and TBH, I've never bought into that line of thinking - but, others do. To me, emotion is conveyed through performance/delivery, expression, dynamics, melody, harmony, timing, range, etc. That's not to say that key doesn't play a role in all of that. I find myself routinely changing the key on songs in the early stages to get better expression out of my sounds and better mixes, but this has more to do with finding the "sweet spot" of the instruments or vocalist's range that I'm working with, and nothing to do with finding a specific key that someone else might identify as conveying a certain mood.

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pretty sure all those key descriptions where written before the early 19th century where equal temperament became universal. The most recent one by Schubart is somewhat suspect in that he was mostly known for organ which used equal temperament a little later.

Key choice has more to do with orchestration and piece unity than any of these trite and over simplistic key descriptions. SImilar with dance , the most important factor in choosing a key has to do with the bass sweet spot as this is really the most important aspect to dance. Choose a key where the bass goes too low or too high and you get a bad club track.

As to whether C # or Db sound different on a piano ? Well I would like to say in your head but if you hear it , well without testing, I can't say you are wrong. Performers like singers and string players will tend to play sharp keys a little sharper and flat keys a little flatter which against the pure pitch of the brass and woodwinds does somewhat change the feel. I can say that for average performers , the sight of 7 sharps rather than 5 flats might make a performer more anxious and tense. There are alot of factors that would incline one to chose one key over another but those mood charts are not really taken seriously.

Last edited by RichieV on Feb-11-2010 at 18:12

quote:

Originally posted by cryophonik So, are you suggesting that a piano piece written in C#-major will have a different mood or feel than the same song written in Db-major?

I'm talking about within the circle of fifths progression, sharped keys like G, D, A, E, etc and flatted keys like F, Bb, Eb, Ab, etc. The differences between, say, G to F are a bit more obvious than the difference between G to A.

Enharmonic keys are obviously going to sound the same, I wasn't suggesting anywhere that calling a key signature something else makes it sound different.

But like I said, that's just how I perceive them.

quote:

Originally posted by Kysora Enharmonic keys are obviously going to sound the same, I wasn't suggesting anywhere that calling a key signature something else makes it sound different.

Just testing ya!

But, that said, I was somewhat serious because I do wonder sometimes if people perceive enharmonic keys differently when they know which key it is written in. The listener who doesn't know what key a song is written in would obviously have no way of hearing a difference between a piano piece written in C# vs Db because there isn't one from his/her perspective. But, if someone is told that they are listening a track in Db they may perceive it as lower (and possibly sadder?) than if they were told that it is written in C#. I don't know - just speculating, and that was sorta the devious agenda behind my question to you.

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enharmonic keys do sound different tho in an orchestral setting. C#+ will sound brighter than Db+ . I think it is mostly practice performance but I have a feeling the cognitive ramifications of seeing sharps rather than flats affects the resulting performance.

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Originally posted by RichieV As to whether C # or Db sound different on a piano ? Well I would like to say in your head but if you hear it , well without testing, I can't say you are wrong.

I see we were typing at the same time - there's your master's thesis question!

quote:

Originally posted by RichieV I can say that for average performers , the sight of 7 sharps rather than 5 flats might make a performer more anxious and tense...I think it is mostly practice performance but I have a feeling the cognitive ramifications of seeing sharps rather than flats affects the resulting performance.

Interesting point - never thought of that, but it certainly makes sense and would certainly affect the mood of the performance.

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