Originally Posted By: JohnJohnJohn
maybe I'm missing something here but as I understand it specific keys are not associated with specific feelings, at least not in the way major (happy) and minor (sad) are. for example, if I write a sad sounding song in the key of Am and then transpose it to Em (or G#m or whatever minor) it does not sound any less (or more) sad. And if I play the blues in G and then transpose to Bb it is still the blues. I guess each person's personal preference and experience may affect this but the relationship of the notes to one another is identical after transposition.


Many composers throughout history would not agree with that.

Matter of fact, many of them compiled lists of key sigs along with the corresponding emotion each key conveyed to their way of hearing or thinking.

What's interesting is not the few places where these composers were in apparent disagreement, but how many more times they were in agreement as to the feeling a certain key conveys.

Perhaps the most studied or cited is the comparisons between Rimsky Korsakov and Alexander Scriabin, both of whom not only assigned each key an emotion, but also a color.

But we can even evidence this in Haydn's works, The Messiah perhaps being the definitive example, opening in Gb minor, then suddenly changing to the relative Major of Eb in the Intro. Eb is often described as the "God" or "Holy" key. Then, the Hallelujah Chorus at the other end of this epic work, is in D Major, which nearly all composers, classical or modern, tend to think of as the "Golden" sounding key.

Flash forward and we find that Errol Garner preferred the key of Eb for his "Misty" above all other keys, hmmm...

If you are interested, it should be easy enough for you to Bing up these lists around the 'net, these are pretty much box stock standard fare for the university composition major.

This said, we must also remember that nothing is etched in stone about such, for example, if the singer needs it to be transposed, then do it.

--Mac

Last edited by Mac; 06/24/13 04:00 PM.
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