The key it's published in is usually one that's been chosen by a popular singer who had a hit with the song. When other singers perform the song, they chose different keys at will.ģ) If the song gets published, it may be written out in one key or another at the discretion of the publisher. The singer transposes the key of the song to the best one that fits the range of his or her particular voice. It may be written down in one key, but nobody pays attention to that.Ģ) A singer decides to perform the song. are songs really "written" in the keys you hear on the radio/CD/?ġ) The song gets written. Thinking that songs should be written to fit one's current tuning and experience would be silly, since there is so much variety out there and most music uses more than one instrument! With guitar in particular there are certain shapes that are harder to play than others, but you can use a capo or an alternate tuning to make that problem disappear. With more practice you'll be able to just look at a key signature and begin playing without needing to think about it you'll play the right flats/sharps automatically. If a particular key seems easier to you, that mostly just means you've had more practice with it (either mentally or physically). Your fingers are different lengths so playing all the white keys forces your hand to take on awkward positions. C Major, which you might think is the easiest because it's all white notes, is actually quite unnatural. On a piano, for example, I find E Major (4 sharps) to be the easiest to play, whereas the composer Chopin taught his students B Major (5 sharps) first since he viewed it as the easiest. Key signatures with sharps and flats aren't any easier or harder. You can imagine how the latter would sound cleaner - and the effect may be more dramatic on other instruments. To go from a G to an A, you only lift one finger. To go from an F to a G on a recorder, you have to lift three fingers. This is probably the main reason folk/pop/rock songs get transposed.įinally there's the feel brought about by the mechanics of playing the piece in a given key on a given instrument. When composing for an orchestra or a band, you have to keep in mind preferred keys on all kinds of instruments - violins, woodwind, harp, etc.įor songs, there's also vocal range to be considered. More experienced pianists don't find black keys to be a problem, but they like certain keys because of the way the keys fall under their fingers (often keys with lots of black keys). Beginner guitarists don't like C major because they have to play a barre F chord.īeginner pianists love C major because it's all on the white keys. Bear in mind that what's easy on one instrument isn't so easy on another. You've asked why composers don't use "easier" keys. Most people can't consciously detect those differences, but there may be subconscious effects.Īnother reason is ease of playing. Or it might be that due to tempered tuning, the intervals work better for you (the difference between a C and a G is only approximately the difference between a D and an A). I happen to like the tone of my guitar with a capo on the 7th fret, for example. It might be that you feel that notes of a certain pitch inherently sound pleasant on your chosen instrument. One reason to choose a certain key, is simply that it sounds good. As I'm sure you're aware, you can transpose any tune to whatever key you like.
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