[Dixielandjazz] Six Flats - The ultimate?
Bill Gunter
jazzboard at hotmail.com
Wed Oct 4 18:45:36 PDT 2006
Hi Paul, and all,
You wrote (regarding keys):
>. . . there is reason why Chopin's Polonaise was in Db
>instead of C. On a decent piano, it sounds more resonant in Db and a
>little "plainer" in C.
Well, that's not what my sweet wife, Beverly, would say (she thinks C is
lighter and more airy than Db which she calls "darker, like a rainy day."
But then again, I didn't use a decent piano, I used my electric keyboard
which uses sampled digital information and, hence, could conceivably taint
the result.
By the way . . . your further information on the cycle of fifths was
interesting.
Has anyone made a study of the relationship of fibonacci numbers to the
musical scale?
Cheers,
Bill "Enquiring minds want to know" Gunter
jazzboard at hotmail.com
>From: "Edgerton, Paul A" <paul.edgerton at eds.com>
>To: "DJML" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
>Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Six Flats - The ultimate?
>Date: Wed, 4 Oct 2006 19:30:09 -0500
>
>Steve Barbone wrote:
> >Are 6 flats the ultimate? Heck no, The key of Cb has 7
> >flats. Take Janie's six flat list and add a Fb to it.
>
> >You can also play in 7 Sharps if you want. Key of C#.
> >Now this should be a really bright key.
> >(F#, C#, G#, D#, A#, E#, B#)
>
> >Anybody play in those keys?
>
>
>Sure, Steve, lots of people play in those keys, but that's not what most
>of us would call them. C# would have 7 sharps but Db as only 5 flats.
>Most would prefer the latter. Cb would have 7 flats but B only has 5
>sharps. Same deal.
>
>The only grey area is F#, with 6 sharps as compared to Gb, which would
>be 6 flats. Most published music would put it in F#, but sometimes (for
>horn players) it might be easier to think of that as Gb. Whatever.
>
>The difference between Cb and B might have been of some importance
>before the adoption of equal-temperament, but no longer. The usual
>practice in modern times is to pick a key that allows the melody to fall
>in the desired range of the lead voice or instrument. (Anybody remember
>fake books that had tunes in both the "trumpet" key and in the "tenor"
>key?) That said, there is reason why Chopin's Polonaise was in Db
>instead of C. On a decent piano, it sounds more resonant in Db and a
>little "plainer" in C. And of course, those few unfortunate souls who
>have perfect pitch can add all kinds of interesting anecdotes here.
>
>In the interest of education, here is list of keys with the number of
>sharps or flats needed, plus a version of the fabled circle of fifths
>showing the relationship between the keys...
>
>Major: Minor:
>
> 6# - F# <-+ (6# - D#mi) <-+
> 5# - B | 5# - G#mi |
> 4# - E | 4# - C#mi |
> 3# - A | 3# - F#mi |
> 2# - D | 2# - Bmi |
> 1# - G | 1# - Emi |
> 0 - C | 0 - Ami |
> 1b - F | 1b - Dmi |
> 2b - Bb | 2b - Gmi |
> 3b - Eb | 3b - Cmi |
> 4b - Ab | 4b - Fmi |
> 5b - Db | 5b - Bbmi |
>(6b - Gb) <-+ 6b - Ebmi <-+
>
>
>
> <-- C -->
> "Flat" Keys F G "Sharp" Keys
>
> Bb D
>
> Eb A
>
> Ab E
>
> Db B
> F#
>
>
>This horse, if not dead, ain't fit for riding.
>
>-- Paul Edgerton
>
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