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Any song can be transposed, and into any key. I agree that some guitar riffs can run out of fretboard in EADGBE tuning if you transpose too far. That's where the real skill comes in: rearranging the song to maintain or create the right feel.
The second being the types of artist who go in depth discussing this stuff who are largely from the shred oriented side of things and a lot of people want to distance themselves from that kind of music as much as possible seeing it as pretentious etc.
I don't think many people deep down really believe knowing theory will make you worse, certainly I don't it's more about that I don't see it as providing what I want out of a theory of music, and therefore not making sense to me, to work on it. I would get more pay off for example studying drum play through of specific drummers or working on my mixing / engineering skills.
In terms of a classification / codification I wonder if it is also needlessly complex as a direct result of being based around a piano keyboard.
Interesting point around different keys having different characters, I wonder how much of that is due to temperament of the instruments.
Edit - although maybe certain wavelengths affect us more. Maybe d minor is "the saddest key"! (Spinal Tap)
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
I find Music Theory interesting and value it, as it allows me to understand fresh concepts and ideas pretty quickly. For instance, my regular Guitar Teacher introduced me to 'Modal Borrowing" recently. From a theoretical point of view, i could grasp the concept easily. Putting it into practice in my playing is another matter, but it gives me another interesting avenue to explore.
Pianos are the easiest way to understand theory. They're linear and each note only appears one time, unlike things like guitars where you can play the same note in several different places.
All notes have a relevant frequency - I think part of the reason for a different feel is that they're playing at different frequencies, and certain frequencies lend themselves to certain things... quite important when you're considering the reproduction on speakers (which is relevant to arrangement for modern music, at least something to be aware of).
C Major
Completely Pure. Its character is: innocence, simplicity, naïvety, children's talk.
C Minor
Declaration of love and at the same time the lament of unhappy love. All languishing, longing, sighing of the love-sick soul lies in this key.
D♭ Major
A leering key, degenerating into grief and rapture. It cannot laugh, but it can smile; it cannot howl, but it can at least grimace its crying.--Consequently only unusual characters and feelings can be brought out in this key.
C# Minor
Penitential lamentation, intimate conversation with God, the friend and help-meet of life; sighs of disappointed friendship and love lie in its radius.
D Major
The key of triumph, of Hallejuahs, of war-cries, of victory-rejoicing. Thus, the inviting symphonies, the marches, holiday songs and heaven-rejoicing choruses are set in this key.
D Minor
Melancholy womanliness, the spleen and humours brood.
E♭ Major
The key of love, of devotion, of intimate conversation with God.
D# Minor
Feelings of the anxiety of the soul's deepest distress, of brooding despair, of blackest depresssion, of the most gloomy condition of the soul. Every fear, every hesitation of the shuddering heart, breathes out of horrible D# minor. If ghosts could speak, their speech would approximate this key.
E Major
Noisy shouts of joy, laughing pleasure and not yet complete, full delight lies in E Major.
E minor
Naïve, womanly innocent declaration of love, lament without grumbling; sighs accompanied by few tears; this key speaks of the imminent hope of resolving in the pure happiness of C major.
F Major
Complaisance & Calm.
F Minor
Deep depression, funereal lament, groans of misery and longing for the grave.
F# Major
Triumph over difficulty, free sigh of relief utered when hurdles are surmounted; echo of a soul which has fiercely struggled and finally conquered lies in all uses of this key.
F# Minor
A gloomy key: it tugs at passion as a dog biting a dress. Resentment and discontent are its language.
G Major
Everything rustic, idyllic and lyrical, every calm and satisfied passion, every tender gratitude for true friendship and faithful love,--in a word every gentle and peaceful emotion of the heart is correctly expressed by this key.
G Minor
Discontent, uneasiness, worry about a failed scheme; bad-tempered gnashing of teeth; in a word: resentment and dislike.
A♭ Major
Key of the grave. Death, grave, putrefaction, judgment, eternity lie in its radius.
A♭ Minor
Grumbler, heart squeezed until it suffocates; wailing lament, difficult struggle; in a word, the color of this key is everything struggling with difficulty.
A Major
This key includes declarations of innocent love, satisfaction with one's state of affairs; hope of seeing one's beloved again when parting; youthful cheerfulness and trust in God.
A minor
Pious womanliness and tenderness of character.
B♭ Major
Cheerful love, clear conscience, hope aspiration for a better world.
B♭ minor
A quaint creature, often dressed in the garment of night. It is somewhat surly and very seldom takes on a pleasant countenance. Mocking God and the world; discontented with itself and with everything; preparation for suicide sounds in this key.
B Major
Strongly coloured, announcing wild passions, composed from the most glaring coulors. Anger, rage, jealousy, fury, despair and every burden of the heart lies in its sphere.
B Minor
This is as it were the key of patience, of calm awaiting ones's fate and of submission to divine dispensation.
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
I actually prefer leading theory to playing believe it or not. But I'm also that bloke who reads the instructions before assembling / operating anything new.
Personally I'm somewhat sceptical as my own experience playing covers shows there is a certainly a range where you can transpose a lot of songs and not really lose anything about the feel but if this is still widely considered to be the case then this would be an area I would be interested in learning more about.
I mean, some may argue that the resonance of the piano might affect certain keys, or that the positions of the black notes may affect the way you actually play, but all things being equal, Schubart's premise only works on just or well-tempered instruments.
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
Slowly getting my head around how scales and chords are formed, think with a bit more study i could crack it, never seem to get the time, any recommendations for books on the subject anyone?
But if you reference the piano chart I posted eariler - the pitches do have relevant frequencies and this will matter for the reproduction of the notes, which in turn can influence the feel.
All speakers have a range... guitar cab speakers, HiFi speakers, PA speakers. Even acoustic instruments have a frequency range when you think about it - all things being equal a bigger guitar body is going to resonate deeper and with more lower frequencies than a smaller bodied one.
All frequencies have a pitch - so instruments will be excited in different ways by different pitches due to their resonant frequencies and frequency bandwidth/response.
I think it's possibly quite complex with a lot of factors
And get to the point of connecting brain->hands for intervals too.
I've found and used enough learning material in the past that will work for this - I need to stick at it consistently so that it becomes learned rather than something I sometime practice and then forget.
IMHO the notion that knowing this stuff stifles creativity is one of 2 things:
1 - an excuse to not bother
2 - innocent ignorance from having heard it said so many times.
If you've ever learned to apply *any* theory then when that penny drops you know it's not true.