Characteristics of Certain Keys/Notes - Perception of Sound

[Britt]

Hey all,

I recently stumbled upon a website documenting the "characteristics of certain keys, and even the color - pitch relationship.

http://www.wmich.edu/mus-theo/courses/keys.html (Characteristics of keys, by Christian Schubart)

http://www.harmonics.com/lucy/lsd/colors.html (pitch/color relationship)

The feel of certain keys is, arguably, completely subjective - even if several people agree that D minor sounds very sad, this can be related to other keys that they have heard. For example, if one has ever heard a major chord (in their entire life), then a minor chord will sound sadder or darker in comparison. I have read elsewhere that the thickness and timbre of the piano strings could, potentially, drastically effect the "feel" of one key as opposed to another. Also, the equal-tempered tuning used in pianos would make certain keys more out of tune than others (not as much as perfect tuning would, obviously, but some P5 intervals are more in tune than others), making the keys that are more out seem to have an added element of tension.

However, the color/pitch relationship is quite factual (notably, the Guy Murchie concept). sound, like light, is expressed in frequency and wavelength. This means, in Laymen's terms, that both are vibrations. Frequency is how many waves travel by in a second, and wavelength is the distance from one wave to another.

Scientists already know that wavelength and frequency are inversely proportional; meaning, that if the frequency goes up then the wavelength must go down, ect. So if certain colors have certain wavelengths, then they also must have certain frequencies (which is how we measure pitch, i.e. A = 440). If one took the color's wavelength, and calculated its frequency, then one would be able to calculate the corresponding sound wave. It is interesting to note that many geniuses have claimed to "see" sound as color.

Maybe the color/pitch relationship can also determine how individual notes effect us emotionally, just like how individual colors effect us. What are your thoughts on this?

[Britt]

I had never heard of the term synesthesia before, it's a very interesting subject. Although I can see how it would help, I think I agree with your husband - after a while, random colors flashing into my head while trying to enjoy a piece of music would get rather annoying.

I have only seriously been studying the piano for a couple of weeks now, and even that is on my own. The different fingers concept is very interesting. I suppose it is like changing the bowing on repeated notes, or articulating them differently.

I wonder if there is anyone who experiences all of their senses (or a majority) at once. They would get the "full experience" of each pitch and be able to note its true nature. But then again, I suppose all of our senses are subjective. Just like you said, you prefer gentler tones and colors to harsh ones. Someone else may be the oppisite. I think it all has to do with your surroundings, such as, if one was played a song in the key of g every night before they went to bed as a child, then the key of g would be associated with the feel of that memory.

I guess that's another reason why I love music - it's so subjective. When one person listens to Berio's Sequenza V for solo trombone, they walk away baffled, and the hated/didn't understand it. To another, it conveys a specific emotion, to which they can relate, an akward juxtaposition.

[Patrik Ohlsson]

I worked together with a music teacher with a perfect pitch. He used to play at funerals and weddings. He always played in D minor at funerals because "Everything seemed alot more beautiful in that key". Don't know if it's true but probably the differing character of the different keys generate certain response with the listener.

[Fredrick zinos]

I would think that implementation of equal tempered tuning since the 18th century would largely eliminate such a view of tonality.. Is E major "brighter" than G major? Not if the relationships between the notes of the scale are all equalized. I tend to think that we perhaps hear or in other ways experience one "key" differently from the other as a matter of conditoning. which begs the question: Is non-tonal or poly tonal music subject to such coloristic or emotive descriptions? If not, perhaps that argues that the key descriptions we tend to use are just baggage we bring to the listening experience.

[Patrik Ohlsson]

I do think most composers tend to favorize certain keys. But if it's because a certain key sounds better than another. That's hard to prove, it's really up to personal taste and musical background.

[Adrian Allan]

How about the fact that certain instruments resonate (have more natural overtones) in certain keys, so that it does affect the timbre in an absolute sense.

For example a guitar piece in E minor will always sound better than one in Bb minor because of the number of open strings tuned as overtones of an E minor chord.

The guitar is almost tuned to E minor. You only need to put down one finger on string five and strum the guitar - and you get an E minor 7 chord.

I imagine the same is true of other instruments.

[Patrik Ohlsson]

This will however be compromised when composing for an ensemble or orchestra. It's hard to compose so that every instrument sounds with it's "full voice" all the time.

[Adrian Allan]

How about piano ? Beethoven preferred C minor and F minor to plain old A minor.

Piano players - is C minor a more tragic key than A minor, or is just our imagination ?

[Fredrick zinos]

Actually LVB seemed to like 3 flats whether C minor or Eb Major.

Here are some of his C minor compositions:Piano trio Op 1#3; Piano Sonata Op 10 #1; Piano Sonata Op 13
String Trio Op9 #3, Piano Concerto #3, String quartet Op 18 #4, Violin Sonata Op 30#2; Symphony # 3 (second movement). Symphony #5; 32 Variations (piano); Corilolan, String Quartet Op 74, Piano Sonata #32 Op 111, (last movement)

Here are some of his compositions in Eb major: Piano Sonata #4, Symphony# 3, Clarinet trio Op 38, Piano Sonata Op 31 #3, Piano Sonata #26; Bagatelle Op 126 #3; Piano Concerto #5 (Emperor), Violin Sonata Op 31 # 3

There are probably many more but this is what a quick search on Google turned up.

The argument, as I understand it, is made that instruments sound better when written in their natural key. What key would that be? Is the instrument in the key of its lowest string as suggested by the guitar example above? If so, do violins sound best in G, Violas in C, Cellos in C and Basses in E? Does the piano sound best in A? Do winds sound best in their primary key signature, flutes and oboes in C, English horn in Eb, Clarinets in Bb, etc? Do french horns really sound best in the key of F? If so, what happens to the "best sound" when player inserts the Eb crook? What happens to bass fiddles (in E?) when they use the C adapter?

The rules of overtone propagation are going to remain constant without respect to whether the "root" is G (on the violin) or 1st finger on the G string "A" The sound propagates the same way whether based on an open string or a fingered note. If that were not true, I would expect instruments rooted in different key would have a more difficult time playing in tune with each other.

Frequently the key signature of a piece is decided by the instrumentation. A piece for wood wind quintet in Bb Major (2 b's) sounds as well as if the piece were in B major (5#'s) the difference being wind players may have a more difficult time playing in B major. Similarly, strings seem to sound brighter in sharp keys -there is much solo violin literature in A major, E major D major, G major by comparison relatively little in flat keys - (there MAY be a specific reason for this. Sharp keys demand stretched fingers in the left hand of the performer therefore, strictly speaking G# may sound microscopically sharper than its equivalent Ab-- in fact, Beethoven, ((second violin second mvt of Piano Concerto #5)) writes G# when Ab is already in the key signature).

Another reason for key selection is composer facility. I am sure you have had the experience of composing something and found that it "writes easier" in one key than in another. That is not the same as saying that a particular key has a sound different than its neighbor.

[Kristofer Emerig]

If you desire true key differentiation (and modal differentiation, for that matter), and are playing a non-fretted instrument (except clavichord, of course, the tangents of which can be bent to achieve alternate tunings), try reverting to Mean-Tone. I keep my virginal in quarter comma mean tone most of the time. It is most applicable for keys involving up to 3 accidentals. It will contain some wolfish intervals not readily accepted by the modern ear, and one big one - "The Wolf". Byrd used some of the rougher intervals with great stategic and jarring effect. Understand that in mean tone, the enharmonic notes, say F#, Gb for example, are melodically "shared", yet require a decision harmonically. Do you want to tune to one or the other? The fifths are narrow, conversely, the fourths, slightly wide, the thirds pure.

I tune C pure to E, walk the fifths down, narrowing slightly, tune F pure to A, B to G, then decide which accidentals to elect pure to a neihboring diatonic, for example C# pure to A, Eb pure to G, F# pure to D, G# pure to E, Bb pure to D. In the preceding example, a triad with G# as its root is going to taste a bit gamey, because harmonically, there is no D# on the keyboard, just Eb, see? Eb will melodically pass for D# though, thats the trick.

I personally despise equal temperement. It is, of all the historical temperments, the most bland, torpid, and graceless. The thirds are barely tolerable. It is unfortunately a necessary evil associated with the advent of chromaticism and wide ranging modulatory writing practices. Fredrick is right. There is no scientific basis for the belief in "key feeling" within the realm of equal temperement.

In taste, an analogy: mean tone is to equal temperement as is roast wild duck to boiled, processed chicken. - just one man's oppinion.

[Patrik Ohlsson]

Probably because A minor and C major is more commonly used in all music, and is therefore not as foreign as C minor to the common ear. I patch it together like this: Foreign/Uncommon key = Shock/Excitement. Common key = Familiar/Safe. This ultimately has an effect on how the listener relates to the music.

[Patrik Ohlsson]

The string on a violin resonates stronger when you play on an open string. The finger muffles the string a tiny bit, since skin absorbs sound far better than hard wood.
I played folk music in an ensemble once and the string section were noticeably louder when playing in a key like A major or D major when they used the G and A string as resonate strings than if they played in a flat key. However it didn't sound more or less beautiful, just more powerful.

The same suits the guitar pretty well. However with a guitar if you play with open strings you can get a reverb effect through letting open strings resonate without instantly muffling the note. Like with 10 stringed guitars.

It all depends on the composition itself. If you want certain sounds and possibilites from your players, then you will have to write in a certain key. If a key truly sounds better than another on a piano for example, that's mostly up to personal preference and musical background