What key are you?

Poststructural Pub
1

I thought this was intersting as I’ve always found the key of A to be energetic.

  • By Beethoven’s day, the concept of " Key Character " (in which different keys conveyed specific emotional meanings), was much refined. A widely read and influential list of keys and their affective qualities, written by Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart and published posthumously in 1806, contained the fashionable descriptions for all major and minor keys. In this list, he describes the “character” of keys thusly:
  • “C minor. Declaration of love and at the same time the lament of unhappy love. —All languishing, longing, sighing of the love-sick soul lies in this key.” “E major. Noisy shouts of joy, laughing pleasure and not yet complete, full delight lies in E major.” “C# minor. Penitential lamentation;…sighs of disappointed friendship and love lie in its radius.” "C major is completely pure. Its character is: innocence, simplicity, naivety, children’s talk"
2

The whole list can be found [u]here[/u]. :slight_smile:

3

Yes indeed. To me, Am has a lean, hungry sound, too. I don’t know about you, but to me it sounds as if it’s higher-pitched than Bm for some reason; Bm sounds sort of quizzical and not so urgent by comparison, so maybe that would account for it.

4

Oh no!

  • A Major:
    This key includes declarations of innocent love, satisfaction with one’s state of affairs; hope of seeing one’s beloved again when parting; youthful cheerfulness and trust in God.

Oh yes. Goddess, maybe.

5

Star of Munster kind of stuff. Yeah, The Musical Priest, Earl’s Chair kind of stuff is all one step below us. :wink:

The guide says…

  • A minor:
    Pious womanliness and tenderness of character.
6

I am so D minor.

J.

7

Oh no, I was all set to say

“E major. Noisy shouts of joy, laughing pleasure and not yet complete, full delight lies in E major.”

based on this description. :slight_smile:

Then I remembered that the tunes I _really_love to play on organ and piano are almost always in the key of Ab Major. From the full list link:

Ab Major
Key of the grave. Death, grave, putrefaction, judgment, eternity lie in its radius.

Eeeewwwwwwww :frowning: :frowning: :frowning: (I don’t care what they say, I still love 'em :wink: )

So I decided to look up my next favorite key(keyboard playing here) Bb major-

Bb Major
Cheerful love, clear conscience, hope aspiration for a better world.

Well that’s quiet a bit better…

8

If this was written in the 18th century, and published later in 1806, are they talking about the same notes that we call C and Am etc. ?

Equal temperament has no “key colour”.

:laughing: Dullard that I am, I have never found any of these descriptions to be apt or true. One tune in G can be more triumphant than a different tune in D. Its the tune, its melody and metre that give it charcter, not the key its played in, as far as I can tell.

djm

9

How wrong is that? It is the key of the ravening wolf, of the reaver, of danger, calculation, things martial, and the rack.

10

Surely someone feels they’re C major! Maybe it’s not ones impression of one’s self that counts.

  • C Major
    Completely Pure. Its character is: innocence, simplicity, naïvety, children’s talk.
11

:laughing:

I just know I feel A-OK all over.

12

How does it feel to be
One of the beautiful
People?
Tuned to a natural E.
“Happy to be that way.”
Now that you’ve found another key
What are you going to play?

(I’d rather be rich)

djm