scottasin Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 i know this is a bit random, but when you guys just sit down by a piano or keyboard and start playing no particular song, what key do you like? i'm quite partial to Eb major myself, i feel like i can get around on the keyboard quite quickly when i play in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MidLifeCrisis Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Dm, the saddest of all keys Steve A Lifetime of Peace, Love and Protest Music www.rock-xtreme.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzwee Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 If it's Blues, I like Bb and F. But for jazz, I don't really have a particular preference. Just ones I don't like hanging out too long in due to lack of practice (E, A, F#, B for example). Hamburg Steinway O, Crumar Mojo, Nord Electro 4 HP 73, EV ZXA1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gliderproarc Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 How coincidental, I rather like Eb too. GIGO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewall08530 Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Major Key F Minor Key Dm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K K Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 I try to avoid keys that have more than seven flats or sharps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delirium Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Originally posted by scottasin: i know this is a bit random, but when you guys just sit down by a piano or keyboard and start playing no particular song, what key do you like? this is not random at all, since each keys sound different. So it depends on my mood entirely. ♫♫♫ motif XS6, RD700GX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Pierce Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Well, my rock background has me used to those guitar keys -- I'm pretty comfortable in A and E. When I walk up to a piano, I tend to play in G or C. I also like Bb for reasons that aren't clear to me -- I actually feel a bit clumsy in that key, but I still like it. For minor keys, I do like the saddest of all keys a lot. Seriously, I do! Something about m9's in D. --Dave Make my funk the P-funk. I wants to get funked up. My Funk/Jam originals project: http://www.thefunkery.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamer Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Eb Korg PA3X Pro 76 and Kronos 61, Roland G-70, Integra 7 and BK7-m, Casio PX-5S, Fender Stratocaster with Fralin pickups, Fender Stratocaster with Kinman pickups, 1965 Gibson SG Standard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stepay Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Well, of course I was going to say Dm, but that's long been taken. Of course it does kind of depend on my mood, but blues in Em is good. Pretty much it's easier to mention the keys I DON'T like to play in. Bb would be one. B is another one -- just doesn't sound all that good to me. Gb...there's another bad one. That will just about do it. Steve (Stevie Ray) "Do the chickens have large talons?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Horne Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 ... favorite color, favorite day of the week, favorite TV show .....? this is not random at all, since each keys sound different. So it depends on my mood entirely. Really? No guitarists were harmed during the making of this message. In general, harmonic complexity is inversely proportional to the ratio between chording and non-chording instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gulliver Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 on guitar: E, A, D, G... on keys: Eb, Ab, Db, Gb... I am back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leberwurst Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 all right... now why don't you stop pretending and admit you play in C all the time? Come on, I do it, you do it, we all do it. It's no shame. Or is it? The Dromb Bopper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legatoboy Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Scottasin, Beethovan called Bm the saddest of all the keys also Bach's Bm Mass is really where many consider he outdid himself, so I think conventional wisdom from the classical world has Bminor as the Saddest Key in The World. But for us here at the KB Mag Forum, conventional wisdom we know is just hooey! I like C,G,A,E,F,Bb,Eb for blues in that order of preference, I hate to have to play blues in B or F# but they have become more fun. I will play blues in any key I have to! F is an interesting blues key because of the very comfortable 'divit' for lack of a better phrase with the Bb(4), B(b5) and the leverage you get from that using the F blues scale! A is nice because somehow the 6 chorf (F#m) sounds very nice in that key! F# come to think of it is an interesting sounding key! All the Keys have there own sound, to me F# and B stand out as different sounding. Really each has a it's own character and I like hearing 'differently' with them in different piano registers! Ab is a nice Jazz key. The Ab Major scalse lies very nice with the hands as does C# Major. Eb and Ab are New Orleans Piano keys because of the horn thang and how in the 'Houses' the piano players replaced the horn bands from the street, so alot of NO piano is in Eb as I understand it from the old piano players copying the horn tunes. Some Dr. John tunes are in Eb. After a few forays into that key, I kinda like it too! Many Jazz standards are in Eb like Body and Soul and These Foolish Things also Scott Joplin stuff! I think some Doc Pomus tunes are in Eb also! My favorite in general is probably G! In Classical I'm partial to C minor just beacuse alot of tunes were in that key! It really probably runs (G,(E,A) tied) and because of all the Jazz stards I play with my lessons, then Eb & Ab. C is really almost, too flat, with no black notes but it is my 'wigging' out key of choice and where I have the most blues vocabulary probably with G a close 2nd then A and E! You know as piano players/keyboardists we need to try things out in different keys, unlike guitarists, we don't have such easy transposition.... Ok somebody had to say it! lb CP-50, YC 73, FP-80, PX5-S, NE-5d61, Kurzweil SP6, XK-3, CX-3, Hammond XK-3, Yamaha YUX Upright, '66 B3/Leslie 145/122 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stepay Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Originally posted by leber_wurst: all right... now why don't you stop pretending and admit you play in C all the time? Come on, I do it, you do it, we all do it. It's no shame. Or is it? Not me. E, D, and A are all easier for me to play in. I do play in C of course, but I'd never just stay there...for one thing it's not the easiest key for me, and for another thing, variety is the spice of life brother! Steve (Stevie Ray) "Do the chickens have large talons?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lerber3 Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Stepay's been hanging with guitarists When I played rock/blues in a band, I used to favor the guitar keys with sharps... now I'm more into jazz keys with flats. Eb is definitely the key that fits under my hands the most naturally for jazz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stepay Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Originally posted by lerber3: Stepay's been hanging with guitarists When I played rock/blues in a band, I used to favor the guitar keys with sharps... now I'm more into jazz keys with flats. Eb is definitely the key that fits under my hands the most naturally for jazz. You're right! I have been. A blues guitarist showed me how to be a better keyboard player than any piano teacher I ever had. BUT, after that guy I did take blues lessons with a blues piano teacher, and I still prefer those keys of E, D, and A (all mechanically similar). Playing in C is just too plain vanilla for me if I have to pick a favorite key. C just isn't my favorite. Why hasn't any mentioned Fb? Steve (Stevie Ray) "Do the chickens have large talons?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Originally posted by Dave Horne: ... favorite color, favorite day of the week, favorite TV show .....? Aw c'mon Dave, don't b flat. I don't have a favorite key. I just play all of them. PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gismo Recording Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 I like F or Bb the best if it's a major key. Cm is my favorite minor key. Ken Denny Gismo Recording So Cliché Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SK Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 I don't have a personal favorite key to play in, but some songs will sound better in a particular key. Often it's the original key, but not always. If you've ever worked with an inexperienced singer who can't sing a song in a standard key (Bb, F, Eb, C, G, Ab, etc,) and forces the band to play a song in B that was written in F, then you also know that some keys can sound totally wrong for some songs. I had that misfortune on a couple gigs years ago. CD: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/stevekessler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cnegrad Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 I don't stay in any one key long enough for it to really matter where I started. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b3_john Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 My favorite key is my house key. Originally posted by Gulliver: on guitar: E, A, D, G... on keys: Eb, Ab, Db, Gb... SRV detuned his guitar a half step to get "that sound", sounds like it'd be perfect for you too. John GP sacred cow of the year: Jimmy Vaughan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leberwurst Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Originally posted by scottasin: what key do you like? the white one sorry The Dromb Bopper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K K Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Originally posted by Legatoboy: Beethovan called Bm the saddest of all the keys...Reference? Link? I study everything I can find on old temperaments and Beethoven since many years and I've never heard of this. Remember that each of those Masters back then used their own preferred non-equal temperaments, where every key offered true distinct characteristics (intervals forming the chords). Since almost everybody use equal temperament (ET) nowadays, all keys sound exactly as neutral. For example, in ET all root to major third intervals are now 14 cents off compared to just intonation, etc. Which was totally different in non-equal temps. All the qualities, colors and distinctions that Masters attributed to keys from earlier non-equal temperaments are lost in ET because the intervals forming keys are now all exactly the same. So there's no saddest key or "joyfullest" key in ET. They are only different in pitch, that's all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanker. Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 My favorite key is my car key. It allows me to get to gigs. A ROMpler is just a polyphonic turntable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kad Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 I tend to favor Q flat with a raised 19th. Reality is like the sun - you can block it out for a time but it ain't goin' away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delirium Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Originally posted by Cydonia: Originally posted by Legatoboy: Beethovan called Bm the saddest of all the keys...Reference? Link? I study everything I can find on old temperaments and Beethoven since many years and I've never heard of this. I haven't heard that either, B flat minor would be more likely. B minor is not sad at all. Since almost everybody use equal temperament (ET) nowadays, all keys sound exactly as neutral. For example, in ET all root to major third intervals are now 14 cents off compared to just intonation, etc. Which was totally different in non-equal temps. All the qualities, colors and distinctions that Masters attributed to keys from earlier non-equal temperaments are lost in ET because the intervals forming keys are now all exactly the same. So there's no saddest key or "joyfullest" key in ET. They are only different in pitch, that's all. what? you're absolutely wrong. ♫♫♫ motif XS6, RD700GX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue JC Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 For someone like me that plays for a lot of different singers, having a favorite key or keys is a bad habit that I can't afford. I have to be just as comfortable in 6 flats or 6 sharps as I am in C because I usually don't have the time to sort it out on stage. By the way, practicing difficult songs in every key is one of the most efficient forms of practice for me. I know a lot of guys who do this. Everybody's got to believe in something. I believe I'll have another beer. W. C. Fields Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K K Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Another interesting one is the key for Mariah's chastity belt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kad Posted January 16, 2007 Share Posted January 16, 2007 Originally posted by delirium: I haven't heard that either, B flat minor would be more likely. B minor is not sad at all. Bb minor is sad - B minor is just disappointed. Let's see, if I had to give each key a personality: C major: immature C minor: wistfully thoughtful Db major: content C# minor: anguished D major: free-spirited D minor: cautiously optimistic Eb major: well-mannered Eb minor: regretful E major: flamboyant E minor: cautiously flamboyant F major: shallow F minor: intolerant F# major: arrogant F# minor: pensive G major: short-sighted G minor: burdened by a troubled past Ab major: contemplative G# minor: furious A major: effervescent A minor: cold Bb major: wise but heavily sedated Bb minor: sad B major: self-centered B minor: disappointed I obviously have some time to kill before my next meeting... Reality is like the sun - you can block it out for a time but it ain't goin' away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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