Obsidian Proboscidean
Here's a kind-of explanation:
There are eight notes in a scale: do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, and do (the higher one). If something is in the key of, say, G, that means that G=do, A=re, B=mi, and so on. If it's in the key of C, then C=do, D=re, E=mi, and so on.
Then you just add in the concept of sharps or flats. If something is in the key of F, F=do, G=re, A=mi, and B flat(one of the black keys)=fa. You can play scales to see if a note need to be played on one of the black keys (it'll sound off if you don't play them right).
The scales in each key sound different. I figure you'd need to switch between the keys if a singer you were playing for could only sing in certain keys (like if they can sing in the key of A, but not the key of E).
I'm no music major, though.
edited 4th May '12 6:47:55 PM by BlackElephant
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Not quite. Changing the key of a piece of music will alter the "flavor" and general emotional content. There's been reams upon reams of discussions among musicians and composers about the moods represented by various keys. Also if you're familiar with a tune being played in one particular key, then it will sound "wrong" to you played in a different key.
Black Elephant: That's not quite the way it works. Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, and ti are old-timey ways of writing out C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The title of the famous depressing classical piece Adagio in Sol Minore translates to Adagio in G Minor.
edited 4th May '12 6:58:34 PM by WoolieWool
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Minor nitpick: standard major and minor scales have seven notes, not eight. When you get to high do, the numbering loops back around to 1.
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Well, technically, moods only really apply when you're working in a tuning that in which the semitones of the base scale aren't quite equal in size. Otherwise, every interval distance is precisely the same, meaning that only the pitch—a fairly minor thing, in the long run—actually changes with transposition.
Not to thread-necro, but for those wanting a Useful Notes page on the subject, https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/UsefulNotes/MusicTheory
So... Will there be a UN page on musical theory. I could contribute some basics too.
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