On 16Oct 2009, at 1:58 , Kit Wolf wrote: > I can't follow your link for some reason, but I'm personally more > sympathetic to the idea that some keys suggest particular moods. In > the > days before equal temperament tuning became ubiquitous, different key > signatures would sound distinct from one another even to a musician > without absolute pitch. This much _can_ be stated objectively. ...
I think Kit is right here. I have heard this story several times. The different keys are essentially "equivalent" only if we argue in terms of equal temperament tuning. Even today, most instruments don't play with equal temperament. The keys have different characters because the intervals are (not so slightly) different, as they are constructed "step by step". Now the different "moods" may have set cultural roots in our brains, so that we can hear a difference even on a piano. Daniel _______________________________________________ post: [email protected] unsubscribe or set options at https://pegasus.memphis.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
