color of the keys ...

Do each of the 24 key centers, as created from the equal tempered system, each have a different color, sound and emotional potential? Dig the following music change colors from A minor to Ab major in the following idea. Example 1.

This is a big, perhaps more philosophical than theoretical musical topic for sure, but even trying to scratch the surface of this nut will bring forth the idea that potentially yes, each key has its own unique qualities. So where to begin to unlock the colors? Perhaps with a visual representation of the "color of keys", pairing up the key centers created by the equal tempered system, arranged by the cycle of fifths with colors as I perceive the key centers to represent. Example 2.

Well, we each get to choose how we perceive the keys / colors right? At least in the U.S. we do. There are a few considerations that arise from viewing the above chart. These include the pairing of keys within a composition, that within the range of a particular instrument, the quality of pitch / tone created changes, thus perhaps effecting the overall color of a given key. That the different styles of American music favor certain keys and that for whatever reasons, we each have our favorites. Lets examine each of the ideas individually and close this discussion of key color by including titles of standard jazz compositions written in the various keys.

In composing music, artists oftentimes use different key centers to bring out the emotional content of there melodies. This pairing of keys within one composition allows the composer to contrast the color of one key to another. Some common pairings of keys include using the relative major / relative minor within one composition. George Gershwin's "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess is a classic tune using this pairing of key centers. Modulation up a half step is oftentimes used in the closing bars of arrangement of many styles of music to provide a "lift" to the ending. Modulation of key centers up a minor third is common, as in "Green Dolphin Street" and "Night and Day." Modulation up a major third can really change the emotional color of a tune. A.C. Jobim's "Desafinado" uses this cool pairing of keys.

Modulation up a perfect fourth is oftentimes used at the close of an arrangement and provides a strong sense of uplifting and fulfillment. Cycling key centers down by whole step is very common. We find this type of motion in jazz standards such as "How High The Moon" and the bridge of "Cherokee." The pairing of keys can provide a tool for the creative composer to contrast their themes and perhaps better articulate their emotional statement. In this pairing and contrast, any key can really have any color. It is in the pairing with another key within one composition that the color contrast comes forth. Of course the emotional character of the melody plays a big part in this process.

Within the range of an instrument, the tone color produced changes. Does this effect the color of a particular key? Well depending on the circumstances, yes very much so. When writing for a large orchestral group of instruments, knowing the tone quality produced by each instrument throughout its range helps in getting ones ideas to sound correct and helps place instruments where they are at their best. Knowing the tone color throughout the range of an instrument can also help in creating new orchestral effects, increasing ones ability to project their emotional statement. That certain instruments project better in certain keys is often a matter of physical construction and how they are tuned. Also that certain instruments are transposing and other concert pitch plays a role in how the keys are chosen for pairing within a musical composition.

Do the various styles of American music favor certain keys and if so, why? Well, in blues music, so much of the early work was done on guitar, so the keys of E, A, G, D are most common. Why? Well, pitches within these keys are also open strings of the standard tuning for guitar, allowing players to use open strings in their playing, which creates a much bigger sound right out of the case. Folk music is very similar key wise to the blues, for basically the same reasons, adding the key of C. All of these keys have easy chord shapes in first position, so that a players ability level to play the instrument does not get in the way of telling their stories. Rock follows along the same lines, although adding bar chords or a capo for guitarists allows one to venture easy into any of the keys. It is in jazz music where all of the keys available are given equal potential, although keys such as B and Gb major and their relative minor keys G# and Eb minor, are rarely encountered. With so much substitution in the harmony and melodic lines of improvised solos, all of the keys, even if just bits and pieces of a key, are potentially included. 

So, what's a good way to get a key under ones fingers and a begin to get a sense of its potential color? Right, learn a composition in that key. The following list of jazz tunes is included to help begin this process.

New chart listing compositions in the minor tonality.

Another interesting study for the impassioned creative artist would be to examine the work titled The Well Tempered Clavier by J.S. Bach ( 1685 - 1750 ). This work includes pieces written for each of the 12 major and minor keys. Mr. Bach created this work for the then emerging equal tempered system for the "clavier", a predecessor to our modern day piano. And judging by the results, he must have been an early proponent of this then, newly emerging system of tonal organization!

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Our unique reward, however, is that while animals survive by adjusting themselves to their background, humankind survives by adjusting to their backround. Ayn Rand