Question:
Oftentimes different music keys have different characteristics. Or at least, it can seem like that to the listener. For example, the key of C sounds like a very basic key to me, D must have kind of a typical rock sound to it because so many rock songs are in D. I've written a chord progression in C#/Db that sounds really good to me. I tried it in D, it didn't sound as good (btw I used a capo to change the keys).

What about with you guys? Do any specific keys have any kind of underlying feelings or colors to you?
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D minor is the saddest key.
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Would a song in C make you feel any different if it were precisely modulated to D? This almost begs to be experimented on...
Personally, I don't think it woould make a difference.
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Originally Posted by Rainer. Personally, I don't think it woould make a difference. When modulating on the guitar, the sound of a piece can change somewhat due to the different tone qualities of the different strings (and different positions on the strings). This could subtly alter the "feeling" of a piece by giving it, say, a "brighter" or "darker" sound. However, in theory, each major key should evoke the same feelings, since they are all made up of the same intervals.
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Yeah, I'm thinking "perfect" modulation here.
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The key of e minor sounds kinda like a an old medieval times kind of key. Or a metal type of rock song.
F major is like the kind of pop song that just sticks in your head all the time.
To me C major screams spiritual songs/hymns. Or simple folk songs.
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I can definitely tag D with rock. So many rock albums are in drop d. On Project 86's first album, EVERY single SONG was in D.
Can't forget G, G is the p&w newbies key. G-D-Em-C all the way baby!
C minor seems deep, decisive, and all things metal to me (several metal groups use drop C)
C major screams to me "I r t3h n00b!!!111!@@!" since it's usually the first chord/key everyone learns. But I really don't like C because two of the primary chords in C, C and F, require my index finger to contract a lot to reach the notes on the top strings. As a result, the first joint past the knuckle starts to ache very badly after a while.
F says "hymn" to me. I've had a lot of hymns proposed to be played in F by the pianist, only to be brought down to G by demand of the guitar, dulcimer, and bass.
E seems suave, cool, and laid back to me. This is probably because I use the progression 079900-799800-046600-577600 alot. The constant open strings give it that feel.
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Originally Posted by davidmigl I can definitely tag D with rock. So many rock albums are in drop d. On Project 86's first album, EVERY single SONG was in D. See, now we're talking alternate tunings rather than keys, and getting away from the original topic.
To apply this example to the original idea, would Project 86's album sound pretty much the same if it used all of the same intervals, but was in the key of C? Probably. Just lower.
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I think it depends on the song, because we do yes you have from leeland a lot at our church and we do it in D instead of E, because its high as heck in E. The difference is the screaming out notes and sounds a bit stronger in E.
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I know it makes a difference to people who learned to recognize pitches when they were young, like me.
Without that, there are enough nuances still where many composers will make the "original" key a fairly important consideration, especially in theatrical pieces.
Nate
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Originally Posted by Rainer. Would a song in C make you feel any different if it were precisely modulated to D? This almost begs to be experimented on...
Personally, I don't think it woould make a difference.
i second this thought
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Originally Posted by Rainer. Would a song in C make you feel any different if it were precisely modulated to D? This almost begs to be experimented on...
Personally, I don't think it woould make a difference. Tell that to the Greeks and basically any early music theorist (or philosophers in general for that matter).
Different modes have been associated with different "moods" for as far as we can go back.
A similar statement I think can be made for keys. If you change keys in certain songs that are distinct enough, they won't have the same effect or feel, to me. For instance, (now, this does have to deal a bit with alternate tunings, but the concept is a perfect example) take Dream Theater's "Stream of Consciousness". The song is in the key of C# minor, but it's played on a half-step down tuned guitar. So it's as if it's in D minor. However, if you play in standard tuning like how it's supposed to be played, it looses a TON of feel to it. But that single half-step seems to make all the difference for whatever reason I don't know.
However, I see what you're saying, though, if we were able to reproduce a different key with the same exact tone qualities... Theoretically, I would tend to agree that there shouldn't be any difference from major key to major key. Too bad that to my knowledge something like that is impossible to do. Except, perhaps digitally? Maybe, I don't know.
Anyways, that was my metaphysical two cents.
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Originally Posted by Gecko of Doom See, now we're talking alternate tunings rather than keys, and getting away from the original topic.
To apply this example to the original idea, would Project 86's album sound pretty much the same if it used all of the same intervals, but was in the key of C? Probably. Just lower.
I can see why you might think that, and I do agree that any particular example (P86 in this case) is irrelevant to the discussion. However, my point was that since drop D tuning lends itself well to the key of D, and power chords are easier in drop D, the key of D tends to be used a lot (overused? maybe, maybe not) in modern rock.
And as a bit of a side note: I am quite sure (from having listened to it many times, and right before I made this post) that every song (well, except the last) on P86's first album was not only played in the drop D tuning, but was also played in the key of D. I might have been a bit ambiguous and gave the impression that the songs were in different keys played on the same tuning. I was using this example to back up my point in the above paragraph.
I don't think the key a song was in would theoretically make much difference unless you had perfect pitch. However, there are things like ease of playing a certain key on an instrument and range of singer's voice that often dictate what is the best key for a song.
Originally Posted by MJ_Avalanche The song is in the key of C# minor, but it's played on a half-step down tuned guitar. So it's as if it's in D minor. So that means that you play like you're playing in D minor, but the tuning makes the actual notes produced in the key of C# minor, right?
Your metaphysical 2 cents was interesting!
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Originally Posted by MJ_Avalanche Tell that to the Greeks and basically any early music theorist (or philosophers in general for that matter).
Different modes have been associated with different "moods" for as far as we can go back.
Well, we really have no idea what they meant by "modes" (it probably wasn't quite what we think of as "modes" today; my personal opinion is that their "modes" were more like India's "ragas" . . . "ways of going").
In any event, I doubt very much that they were thinking of differences in anything even remotely close to what we consider "keys" today. All of their music was surely relatively-pitched (they had no way of telling if something was 440 Hz or 442 Hz or anything else, so they could not have any real absolute tuning... so the issue of whether "C" sounded different than "D" to them is moot).
It was the intervals that they were concerned with and the relationships between them. Those intervals, to them, were probably "the same" at any absolute pitches, so long as the relative pitches were correct.
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Originally Posted by davidmigl I don't think the key a song was in would theoretically make much difference unless you had perfect pitch.
It does, in fact, make some difference, as our bodies and organs are not "pitch-neutral." There are certain natural and musical frequencies that pertain to our various body parts: our heart-rate, for example, is a tempo (generally around 80-90 BPM for most people, I think); the resonant frequency of our chest cavity is a pitch (generally assumed to be around 80-100 Hz for most people, I think); our nervous system probably resonates at a certain very high frequency (no clue what).
A song that has a constant 80-100 Hz low drone (especially if it's the tonic note) will resonate differently with most people (i.e. they'll hear and experience it differently) than a song with a low drone around 120-140 Hz. It's extraordinarily difficult, of course, to classify, predict, or describe this [literal] gut reaction to certain musical frequencies, but it does, in fact, exist. That said, each person's anatomy will produce different natural resonances, so it's hard to harness this.