# Choosing a key



## Aurelian

Among D Minor, G Minor, C Minor, or F Minor, how would you describe the differences in sound that would help a composer choose one of these keys?

What would make a composer choose F# Minor instead of a minor key with flats, or vice versa?

Eb Major and D Major are both for powerful, even exalted music. Again, how would a composer choose?


----------



## EdwardBast

You mean a composer today writing a tonal piece? Or are you thinking of an earlier era and historical practices?

One answer, I think the best one, would be: Don't start out choosing a key. Compose ideas in whatever key they occur, ideally with the instruments that will play them in mind, hear where they want to go and where they naturally come to a resolution. Let the main ideas choose the key.

The vagaries of instrumentation can influence decisions about keys. Do important passages benefit from the use of open strings? Is there a big melody that has to fit into a particular range of a wind instrument? 

As for the character of Eb and D major: These are just conventions based on previous pieces, long ago influenced by their suitability for brass instruments and other factors that aren't necessarily relevant anymore.


----------



## Sekhar

In a world of equal temperament, IMO all major (minor) keys are equivalent. I.e., it makes no difference whether it is G major or F major. Some folks feel higher keys (e.g., say E minor vs B minor) convey a different emotion, but I'm not so sure. The only consideration in picking a key I believe is to do with the nature of the parts (vocal, violin, piano, etc.) so they operate in their best range.


----------



## vsm

There is actually some truth on choosing the right key to give different "feelings" and "characters" to music (of course if you plan to compose a tonal piece).

Composers have always chosen a key according to the "tone" and "feeling" they wanted to instill in their music. For example, it hasn't been a random choice for Beethoven to choose the key of F to compose his famous Pastorale symphony. You can find it in several books about Beethoven, he chose that key because it express mostly "calm" and "tranquillity", a compelling character of that particular symphony.

It is possible there is an "acoustic" explanation of that involving harmonics and what they trigger in our brains... a very deep subject to explore.

Here is an interesting page which gives you an idea of what I am talking about:

http://www.wmich.edu/mus-theo/courses/keys.html

Maybe it is mostly speculation and "tradition", but I guess there is some physical and objective truth to it.


----------



## Phil loves classical

Like Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto's main theme has a certain higher range which keep the listener on the edge of the seat, it is possible to exploit certain timbre ranges which work better on some keys than others.


----------



## SONNET CLV

I recall reading somewhere -- maybe on this very Forum, maybe on another Forum, maybe in a text on music (I no longer recall where) -- someone suggesting that one attempt to play the opening movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 "Quasi una fantasia", Op. 27, No. 2 in any other key than C♯ minor -- perhaps lifting it up a half-step to D minor or down a half-step to C minor -- and listen for the _sense_ the music gives in that other key. It was the writer's contention that the music loses it's very essence when it is placed outside of C♯ minor. Hmm.

Perhaps those of you with a piano handy and hands handy enough to play the sonata attempt the experiment and see what you think. You might post back here your reactions.

Me? The only key I really care about is the one that starts my old Jeep, which is the same one I have a harder and harder time each day keeping track of where I put it. Alas ....

Well ... if I can't drive off to anywhere, I suppose I can stay home and listen to more music. (I sometimes wonder if someone is deliberately hiding those keys.)


----------



## Ludwig Von Chumpsky

vsm said:


> There is actually some truth on choosing the right key to give different "feelings" and "characters" to music (of course if you plan to compose a tonal piece).
> 
> Composers have always chosen a key according to the "tone" and "feeling" they wanted to instill in their music. For example, it hasn't been a random choice for Beethoven to choose the key of F to compose his famous Pastorale symphony. You can find it in several books about Beethoven, he chose that key because it express mostly "calm" and "tranquillity", a compelling character of that particular symphony.
> 
> It is possible there is an "acoustic" explanation of that involving harmonics and what they trigger in our brains... a very deep subject to explore.
> 
> Here is an interesting page which gives you an idea of what I am talking about:
> 
> http://www.wmich.edu/mus-theo/courses/keys.html
> 
> Maybe it is mostly speculation and "tradition", but I guess there is some physical and objective truth to it.


Interesting link. Bless their hearts back then for thinking their personal opinions were akin to objective fact. I think my favorite (in the sense of being so blatantly cultural/subjective) is this one:
E minor: Naïve, womanly innocent declaration of love, lament without grumbling; sighs accompanied by few tears; this key speaks of the imminent hope of resolving in the pure happiness of C major.


----------



## RogerExcellent

Make sure it has a key, else it won't sound good


----------



## ttw

I usually find for instrumental music, I choose a key that allows the instruments to play in preferred ranges. (For singers, whatever they are comfortable with.) There are some audible differences in the sounds of different keys even on the piano. These are small effects though. First, the actual pitch may change if one transposes upward from C to D or C to A. A more subtle change (though I never found it important enough to worry about during composition) is that on a piano, one likes to keep the accompaniment in a nice range just below middle C (at least in some styles.) A change from C to D usually is just a move up. When changing from C to A, not only does the bass move up; the accompaniment may "fold over." A C-chord be played as E-G-C whereas when moved to A, the chord (not the bass) may be played as E-A-C keeping the chord in the same register.


----------



## endelbendel

There are the synaesthetic color theories.
And personal emotional feel: i find E-flat to be soothing, relaxing; and D energetic, even spiky.


----------



## Groooooove

depends a lot on the instrument too! 

a violin in D sounds way different than Eb, compared to a trumpet in D vs Eb. yes the keys have their own flavor, but it also has a lot to do with the harmonic structure of the instrument and how it resonates - as well as which scale degrees are more readily available depending on the key.


----------



## caters

I find on the piano, there are the emotional 5 keys and all other minors are equivalent to each other. Here are the emotional 5 and what I see happen, at least with simple music as I change the factors. And keep in mind that this is for natural minors only, harmonic, and especially melodic minors sound too Major to me(Like in the case of C melodic minor, the only minor chord out of I IV and V is I, so it sounds like it wants to resolve to C major but can't):

D minor:
Slow: Peaceful or Sad
Fast: Happy
Loud: no effect
Soft: More likely to be Sad
Octave lower: Mysterious
Octave higher: Definitely peaceful

G minor:
Slow: Same as D minor
Fast: Same as D minor
Loud: Angry or Happy
Soft: Same as D minor
Octave change: Same as D minor

C minor:
Slow: Definitely sad unless in higher or lower octaves
Fast: Happy unless it gets too loud
Loud: Angry, like in the first movement of Beethoven's 5th symphony
Soft: Reinforces sad feeling you get from it just being slow
Octave change: Same as G minor

F minor
Slow: Sad
Fast: Sad
Loud: Sad
Slow: Sad
Octave change: same as C minor
Polytonal with C minor: Feels the way C minor feels(So I have a C minor alberti bass that isn't too loud and an F minor melody, F minor sounds happy because the C minor is fast)

Bb minor:
Slow: Angry in octaves except for low octaves and very slow tempo, those low octaves and very slow tempo make Bb minor feel sad
Fast: Angry
Loud: Angry
Soft: Angry
Octave change: Feels more like C minor when high(in other words, it is easily variable), feels mysterious if the melody is in low octaves and not just the harmony


----------



## kitae

Thanks for such an interesting topic and discussion!

Would you be so kind to help me with this wonderful piece?





It obviously starts in natural A minor, obviously keeps the key one more time in this reprise, ends in C major, but when exactly does the key changes (and how many times, for that matter) I cannot quite catch. It's as if this major here sounds kinda minor-y? Or as if it constantly swings in between, a little bit like Beatles' "And I love her" or something? Sounds a tiny bit similar, no?
Thank you in advance!


----------



## ScottManson

For me, keys have an effect on my piece.
I am lucky enough to have perfect pitch, so I can identify what key a piece is in.
I feel that keys are traditional, but the Beethoven sonata experiment really shows their psychological effect. I must try that experiment!


----------



## MartinAlexander

First of all – of course different keys feel different in equal temperament.
Just because some people aren't able to feel it, doesn't mean it's not there.

Our hearing is actually very unequal when it comes to frequencies. Just google fletcher-munson curve. There are also many other physical, organical and psychoacoustical factors that do explain this. Either you hear frequencies or you feel emotions.

Beside that, there are tried & true keys which work best for certain instrumentations, due to their construction and range.

Why don't simply listen to a lot of works composed in the keys you mentioned and make up your own opinion ? In the end it's important to form your own independent opinion and not just adopt an foreign one. Saying so, I can only tell my personal feelings, but I hope it will help you simply as another point of view and perspective.

I personally feel that certain harmonic areas and tonal centers are working way better for certain emotions (like majestic, heavenly, bright, light, smooth, dark etc.). So there is not a „better“ key, but simply those which have a broad emotional range and others which have a quite narrow one – the key of course won't drastically alter the feeling of the music, but when using a key suited for the emotions in the music, it will transfer all it's qualities perfectly, while a key suited for different emotions will often weaken, but at least blur the feelings in the music. 

Different keys might sound equal frequency wise, but do feel different emotionally. It's up to you, to decide if you want to listen to frequencies or to feel and experience music.


----------



## mikeh375

I'm with Edward above on this. In practical (and ideal) terms, composing for orchestra means literally that and the best works exploit instrument range, techniques and emotional characteristics. This often means transposition of an idea, but ideally one should compose with the orchestral palette in mind, that is orchestral sound working in tandem with the actual composing and not an afterthought. Only then can you exploit emotional possibilities and write idiomatic music. The choice of key is often a decision based on maximising effect in the chosen medium.
I think Martin's comments above may be more significant for those with a keen ear, I personally can experience majestic and bright from the key of f minor say, and do not sense superiority of any key over another in terms of emotional range, and I have excellent relative pitch, but there is no doubt that D or G major for strings will be "brighter" if one utilises open string techniques, because of sympathetic resonance. 
Again it is down to what one wants to achieve and having that ability takes many years of study.


----------



## jalexis

Each specific instrument may sound a bit different at exactly a specific pitch. All instruments of a classical orchestra together may sound a bit different at exactly a specific pitch. To my layman ear the difference is meaningless if music is transposed one or two semitones up or down, so I would not be fanatic about writing music (or performing it) exactly for one specific key signature. But the greater the pitch change becomes, the more obvious it becomes that pitch does matter, and music does sound best approximately somewhere around the originally intended pitch.


----------

