Emotional content of various keys

[Mike Bromley]

Now this is something that has made me wonder over the years.

To preface, I possess the 'curse' of perfect pitch. Curse, you say? Stop whining, Mike, you say? OK.

Perfect pitch is sort of like perceiving musical notes the way others see color. Easily identified for most eyes. Completely tonedeaf is like being colorblind, I'm guessing.

Like color, then, notes, and their keys and modes, have 'shades' some of which are pleasing to the sonic "eye". Assuming that artistic response is a sort of direct translation of emotional state into an artistic expression, with no 'middleman', then some 'shades' make you feel nice, while others irk the soul. That's why rap (I feel safe in saying) makes me feel irritated the moment I hear it.

OK. Now there are keys that I find emotionally dead. G is such a key. It moves me emotionally (and artistically) like a burden. Odd, because the two main companion instruments, the guitar and the B@|\|J0, are based in G when not capoed.

When I hear people playing in G, say, at a jam, I subconsciously sink into a funk. When playing mandolin, I tense up at the thought of G.

Which isn't to say I can't PLAY in G, But the effort has been huge, to overcome the aversion to that tonic. It took me a month to overcome 'G aversion' and lay into "Bluegrass Breakdown" a la Mon.


Anybody else have similar reactions to different keys?

[Tracy Ballinger]

I always wondered about perfect pitch, 'cause I obviously don't got it! Thanks for the insight.

[Jim Broyles]

I have aversion to certain keys on guitar, because they just are not good keys for guitaresque licks. F major with no capo is such a key. Capoed 3 and open D positions - no problem, so it isn't the tonality. There are no keys I just don't like the sound of and I have no aversions at all on mandolin. Sorry you go through this.

[jim_n_virginia]

HA! It's funny Mike because I LOVE the key of G! LOL! To me it's the de facto bluegrass key. Probably because I know it best I know a lot of kickoff's, intro's and little musical phrases all up and down the neck. Also I can improvise the best in G.

Now I used to didn't like playing in the key of B, Bb and E only because I had a little bit harder time improvising or taking a break in those keys but probably the last 2 or 3 years I have gotten over than.

If I had to pick ONE I guess I would have to pick the key of F as the one I kinda don't like. Just a weird key to sing or play anything into.

I have a good friend and fantastic old time singer and picker who's probably around 70 and is the real deal when it comes to old time bluegrass singer he is a great musician and... yep you guessed it he sings ALMOST everything in the key of F! LOL!

I have jammed with this guy many times and played gigs with him many times and as much as I love jamming with this guy and his wife I always hate playing in F. Luckily he also likes to occasionally play in B or Bb. He NEVER plays in the so called "easy" keys! LOL!

[onassis]

"It's in Dm.....I find it the saddest of all keys....It's called Lick My Love Pump."-Nigel Tufnel

[AlanN]

I don't get emotionally attached to keys. They do have their characteristics, for sure. G is the lowest key on mandolin, and for that, it's cool - to counteract the naturally high, tinny, whiney, shrill sound our little friend makes (gee, you'd think I hate mandolin). And there ain't nothing like G chop.

F I like - listen to Dempsey Young on 14-Carat Mind, he uses that key (with its fat D minor) very effectively, swooping from the low register to fret 13 on E string very well.

B is da bomb - can be bluesy (open D, A, E strings can be worked) or burny.

D - Mr. Fiddle Tune key - ringing, dinging, singing.

The mandolinistic flat keys Bb and Eb are fretboard accessible. And if you're like Jethro, Ab is 'no problem'.

C - Texas Gals - what else to say?

E - good for octave work.

[Jim Broyles]

Maybe there's more to this than I thought.

[Henry Girvan]

In J. Scott Skinner's "The Strathspey King" book "A Guide to Bowing" he describes keys as such:-

C major Bold, but piercing

A minor Sad and plaintive

G major Plenty of body

E minor Sterile - thin

D major Splendid body

B minor Rather sad

A major The Fiddle Key

F# minor Exquistely harrowing

E Brilliant, but lacking in body

F Thinnish

Bb Velvet - very rich and fine

Eb / C minor Weird, fascinating and beautifully sad

He says that "Keys to the composer, are as colours to the artist".

[Randi Gormley]

I've never been repelled by a specific key, but i'm drawn to the minors. Have to wonder what that says about a person, eh?

[sunburst]

Mike, is there any chance you have synesthesia? Apparently, many people with perfect pitch do.

[Gerard Dick]

Check me if i'm wrong but it would seem since equal temperament came along in the mid 1800s, the differences left are major minor and mode. The rest is just pitch.

[sunburst]

Check me if i'm wrong but it would seem since equal temperament came along in the mid 1800s, the differences left are major minor and mode. The rest is just pitch.

Correct, but if one can distinguish pitch, as those with "perfect pitch" can, keys can and do sound different simply because of pitch.

[Chris Keth]

Correct, but if one can distinguish pitch, as those with "perfect pitch" can, keys can and do sound different simply because of pitch.

I know this is unanswerable, but it begs the question whether they sound different because of the pitch or because of the person. Since it doesn't happen to everybody, I doubt it happens in the same way to everybody with perfect pitch. That would mean that pitches don't have varying qualities other than vibration frequency but rather the people are essentially subconsciously imagining it. Interesting to think about.

[OldSausage]

Which isn't to say I can't PLAY in G, But the effort has been huge, to overcome the aversion to that tonic. It took me a month to overcome 'G aversion' and lay into "Bluegrass Breakdown" a la Mon.

I'd be really interested to know what your reaction is when you hear Flatt and Scruggs playing in their G, which is really G#. Is it the same, or different? What I've always wondered about this phenomenon is: is it different when the performers don't tune to 440Hz?

[billkilpatrick]

indian and arabic music have cultural associations which correspond in part to key and which may or may not have significance to us (time of day; mood, etc..)

my favorite key on the mandolin is "D" - it's right there in the middle of the fretboard (you can go up or down) and i can usually carry a tune comfortably in that key.

"G" in italian is "sol" - which for me has a "sunny" association (i know that isn't the etymological root of the word but ... there you go.) first song i really remember being thrilled by was "pastures of plenty" by woody guthrie, played in "G."

[man dough nollij]

Maybe there's more to this than I thought.

Jim, that is awesome! I was thinking of starting a whole new thread to discuss this, but your link is just what I was looking for.

"F# Minor
A gloomy key: it tugs at passion as a dog biting a dress. Resentment and discontent are its language."

Ha!

[journeybear]

I used to wonder why classical pieces, symphonies and concerti and such, were set in certain keys. I thought it was just because the composer "heard" the original idea in that key, or that it had something to do with the voicings of the instruments being featured, or just for variety's sake - especially Chopin's Etudes, at least one in every key I believe. Then I heard this about keys having different colors, or emotional content, and dismissed it as so much after the fact hooey. I still don't quite agree with that concept, but there are some keys that I gravitate to, and I'm never sure why. Usually it's got something to do with the fingerings, the way the notes line up on the freboard for that song in that key.

I like G, A, C, and D for country and bluegrass, E, A, and D for blues and rock, A, C, and D, for ragtime, G and D for lighthearted fare like calypso and pop, Em and Am for the sad stuff. All other keys can take a hike. Not that I won't or can't play in them, but I'm just not comfortable in them. I'd just as soon talk the guitar player or singer into moving his capo one fret so we can play in a better key for me. It's better that way - not just for me, but for the whole shebang to go smoother.

I know one guitarist/singer who hates C, can't stand it, but playing in A capoed up three seems OK. I tease her mercilessly about this; I have to. I've played with some people who insisted on doing some songs in a certain key, and I got used to it, but I would always think of these songs as "that song in Bb." etc. Don't get me wrong - it's good to be able to play in all keys - I just get better results in some other than others. Heck, I wrote a song and set it in F just to get a certain voicing for the major 7th chord, and then figured out ways to make the rest of the progressions work.

I dunno. I'm more concerned with doing a song well than in "the right key" for it, according to some arbitrary conceit. Emotional impact for me comes from the musical and lyrical content of a song, not its pitch. Isn't "Somewhere Over The Rainbow" going to make you feel wistful whether it's in A or Cm? I appreciate Christian Schubart’s efforts to standardize this - thanks Jim - but I think you will find that in the dictionary under "esoterica."

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

No wonder I hate it! And insist on changing the key to G or A.

... the two main companion instruments, the guitar and the B@|\|J0, are based in G when not capoed ...

Not sure I follow you here. Banjo, yes, but I've usually heard the guitar referred to as "being in E."

[Jim Broyles]

Well, I can see the "in E" nomenclature, but it is just as fallacious as saying mandolins are "in G." You have to fret three strings for an E major chord on a standard-tuned guitar, and the same goes for a G major chord, but the open D-G-B on the 4, 3 and 2 strings is an open G and the guitar lends itself to the "G run" very naturally. I don't consider guitars to be "in" any key unless they are tuned to an open chord.

[journeybear]

... the open D-G-B on the 4, 3 and 2 strings is an open G and the guitar lends itself to the "G run" very naturally. I don't consider guitars to be "in" any key unless they are tuned to an open chord.

Good point; hadn't thought of that. I agree about guitars - and other stringed instruments - not being "in a key." In fact, I don't see guitars as being "in E" beyond that being the lowest string, which does lend itself to stregthening keys like E and A. Same with mandolins, which I don't think of as being "in G.". But the three keys that feature the three 1 - 5 pairs of its open strings - G, D, and A - are pretty easy to play on it.

[Jim Broyles]

Yep. When I was first starting to play the mandolin I shied away from certain keys but it was only due to unfamiliarity with the fretboard. Now that I'm a little more aware of where the notes are, I don't have a problem with any key at jams. I still write and "noodle" a lot in the keys named by the open strings but I'm not afraid of B or Bb any more.

[mandozilla]

I play (and sing) strictly 100% trad bluegrass music. I'm learning to play in all keys except Ab, C#, & Eb...I'll get to them later on...maybe. I especially like playing in Fmaj...it's so darn easy and is a good vocal key for many...guys...it depends on the song. Pro's use it more than you might think as well.

The key of G (I call it the 'peoples key') is used a lot in BG jams I think 'cause people don't really try to explore what suits their voice best. I don't know about you but I think it gets pretty old playing 6 or 7 numbers in a row in the key of G...or A for that matter.

But if you don't think you can get a real sadness out of Gmaj try "Memories of Mother and Dad". Trad. bluegrass songs, as I'm sure you know, get real sad a lot and don't rely so much on the key, or minor chord embellishments as they do on the melody and lyrics.

IMHO, in BG music, minor chords are nice but should be used sparingly...they have more impact that way. I like the use of VII chords in BG though.

[Michael Gowell]

FWIW, when I was an aspiring teenaged blues guitarist (sounds silly now) I was fortunate to have a brilliant young black bluesman as a teacher...RIP Philadelphia Jerry Ricks. When I discoverd open tunings and slide style I asked to learn them, and in showing them to me he called D "graveyard" tuning and G was "church" tuning.

Not as subtle as the two dozen distinctions made by some European working in the classical genre as outlined above, but certainly a folk testament to the idea of key "colors".

And it's worth noting what literary analysts say - it's the reader who completes the writing of the book. Personal perception - in key, pitch, tempo, whatever - is emotional truth for the performer and may be equally true for a listener whose personal emotional response is entirely different from the player's intentions.

[allenhopkins]

The key of G (I call it the 'peoples key')...

If the Key of G is the people's key,
What is the key of the bourgeoisie?
I ask you all, most seriously,
In what key do they play?
-- Wretched Refuse String Band (I think)

[Laurence Firth]

If you find this topic interesting I highly recommend reading the following books:

Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain, Revised and Expanded Edition (Paperback)
by Oliver Sacks

Dr Sacks has a lot to say about the brain and perfect pitch and people (musicians) who "see" specific colors related to a specific key.

and

Temperament : the idea that solved music's greatest riddle / Stuart Isacoff

In Oliver Sacks book he describes several musicians who either related color to specific keys or tones. The book is filled with amazing concepts of how the mind "hears" music.

The book "Temperament" tells of the story of how equal temperament came to be the preferred (and correct) method of dividing the range of an octave into 12 semi tones of equal size.

Both books are though provoking and by no means answer all of the questions concerning the concept of perfect pitch and how different individuals "hear" music. Yet both are great reads for the musically inclined.

[Larry Simonson]

Are not fretted instruments tuned for the 'best compromise" in all keys? If so, maybe they could (should?) be tuned for the best performance in each individual key. This would be a lot of tuning in a jam session where each song is in a new key so I'm not recommending it. So with an instrument in normal tune, then each key should have a slightly different coloration according to how good the compromise is for its key. I'm sure there are some who can hear these nuances (luckily I can't) and so moving a tune up from G major to Bb Major may have more effect on ones sensibilities, than just a 3 half-step pitch increase. I'm wondering if the OP tuned his mando for the best compromise in G (I have no idea how to do this) if his aversion to G would be changed.