If ghosts could speak, their speech would approximate this key (1778)
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Re: If ghosts could speak, their speech would approximate this key (1778)
#2Keep in mind that under equal temperament, used ubiquitously today, all keys sound the same. The descriptions in the article probably only apply to a certain other tuning system. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_(music)#Key_coloration
Re: If ghosts could speak, their speech would approximate this key (1778)
#3Keep in mind that under equal temperament, used ubiquitously today, all keys sound the same. The descriptions in the article probably only apply to a certain other tuning system. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_(music)#Key_coloration
Except for the fact that connotations inescapably persist through a long chain influences tracing all the way back to the relevant archaic tuning systems, treatises, church rituals, secular dances, and oral histories.
"D minor: Melancholy womanliness, the spleen and humours brood."
-Christian Schubart, 1778
"It's part of a trilogy, really-- a musical trilogy that I'm doing in d minor, which I find is the saddest of all keys. I don't know why, but it makes people weep instantly."
-Nigel Tufnel playing "Lick My Love Pump" in This is Spinal Tap[1], 1984
Also...
"C major: Completely pure. Its character is: innocence, simplicity, naïvety, children’s talk."
... will persist as long as C major consists of a) the white keys on the instrument of the piano and b) the key in modern notation that doesn't require any sharps or flats in its key signature.
1: FYI-- Christopher Guest appears to actually be playing in d minor for that moment in the movie.
Re: If ghosts could speak, their speech would approximate this key (1778)
#4Keep in mind that under equal temperament, used ubiquitously today, all keys sound the same. The descriptions in the article probably only apply to a certain other tuning system. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_(music)#Key_coloration
A key is just a transposition for the notes as they appear on the music sheet to actual notes on an instrument. Each key is a different transposition. Good keyboards have a transpose feature where you get to pick a key, then you play a piece as you remember or read the music, then do the same thing in a different key, and even though you played the same keys, in the same order, with the same timing, the sound will be quite different.
Play the same piece in different keys, and you'll see that the feelings you get will be different for each key.
Re: If ghosts could speak, their speech would approximate this key (1778)
#5Keep in mind that under equal temperament, used ubiquitously today, all keys sound the same. The descriptions in the article probably only apply to a certain other tuning system. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_(music)#Key_coloration
A key is just a transposition for the notes as they appear on the music sheet to actual notes on an instrument. Each key is a different transposition. Good keyboards have a transpose feature where you get to pick a key, then you play a piece as you remember or read the music, then do the same thing in a different key, and even though you played the same keys, in the same order, with the same timing, the sound will be…
The original comment was about historical tunings with unequal spacing between each note, optimized for perfect ratios between certain notes. This has a drawback of being quite incompatible with some transpositions.
Modern tuning with 12-TET is not perfect, but good enough, and doesn't yield very dramatic differences when transposed.
Re: If ghosts could speak, their speech would approximate this key (1778)
#6Keep in mind that under equal temperament, used ubiquitously today, all keys sound the same. The descriptions in the article probably only apply to a certain other tuning system. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_(music)#Key_coloration
Isn't equal temperament only possible for some instruments?
Re: If ghosts could speak, their speech would approximate this key (1778)
#7Keep in mind that under equal temperament, used ubiquitously today, all keys sound the same. The descriptions in the article probably only apply to a certain other tuning system. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_(music)#Key_coloration
There definitely can be instrument-specific differences though, even under equal temperment. For example, the black keys on a piano sound distinctly different than the white keys; and on stringed instruments, some keys lend themselves to voicings containg more open strings, which AFAIK leads to a brighter/fuller sound (though I don't play stringed instruments, so don't quote me on that). There's also the practical matter that some things are easier or harder to play in some keys.
And of course, playing a song in a higher or lower key means you’re playing it higher or lower. A couple semitones can make a subtle difference in the character of a piece; transposing half an octave can be drastic. This combines with instrument-specific differences too, as most instruments just sound different in different octave ranges. I once had to play a piece written that was written originally in A major for a Rhodes electric piano, but I had to transpose to D major to accommodate a vocalist. This was incredibly awkward; transposing downwards sounded way too muddy, but transposing upwards sounded annoyingly chimey.
Re: If ghosts could speak, their speech would approximate this key (1778)
#8Keep in mind that under equal temperament, used ubiquitously today, all keys sound the same. The descriptions in the article probably only apply to a certain other tuning system. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_(music)#Key_coloration
There definitely can be instrument-specific differences though, even under equal temperment. For example, the black keys on a piano sound distinctly different than the white keys; and on stringed instruments, some keys lend themselves to voicings containg more open strings, which AFAIK leads to a brighter/fuller sound (though I don't play stringed instruments, so don't quote me on that). There's also the practical ma…
> "For example, the black keys on a piano sound distinctly different than the white keys"
Can you elaborate on that? One thing that I noticed is that sometimes it can be hard to make the black keys sound the same as the white keys just because of their different geometry. They are shorter and therefore the lever length is shorter. You have to actively work to get timing and intensity right but you learn that early.
Apart from that I cannot think of a reason why they should be different from the white keys.
Re: If ghosts could speak, their speech would approximate this key (1778)
#9Keep in mind that under equal temperament, used ubiquitously today, all keys sound the same. The descriptions in the article probably only apply to a certain other tuning system. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_(music)#Key_coloration
There definitely can be instrument-specific differences though, even under equal temperment. For example, the black keys on a piano sound distinctly different than the white keys; and on stringed instruments, some keys lend themselves to voicings containg more open strings, which AFAIK leads to a brighter/fuller sound (though I don't play stringed instruments, so don't quote me on that). There's also the practical ma…
I agree to everything you have written, except
> the black keys on a piano sound distinctly different than the white keys
I never noticed that and it doesn't seem plausible to me. The mechanics of black and white keys are identical, no?
Re: If ghosts could speak, their speech would approximate this key (1778)
#10Keep in mind that under equal temperament, used ubiquitously today, all keys sound the same. The descriptions in the article probably only apply to a certain other tuning system. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_(music)#Key_coloration
"In a key" means using the indicated scale. If you mean "all keys sound the same" literal, you're wrong: key changes are audible.