[Dixielandjazz] Six Flats - The ultimate?

[Bill Gunter]

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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