The saddest of all keys?

Discuss...




Bah! To make this more theory based, the notes to D minor (in the aeolian mode) are..

D E F G A Bb C

You know, I'm going to have to agree with you.

A minor gets too close to C major, which is too happy, if not happy, not sad. Also, the Dorian mode is sad, solemn, and in all natural notes, the dorian is very close to D harmonic minor.

But then, just last week I learnt that there are no absolute tones. Depending on which temperament you use (there are a lot) the pitch of a note changes. Because of this, the sound of a key will change in different temperaments too. In ages past, some keys were completely disregarded because they just sounded shit. By that I mean the intervals in the scales just didn't match up.

Today, I think it's 'equal' temperament which is being popularly used, since it makes all keys playable (if imperfect).

Perhaps the question should read: The saddest key of all keys using equal temperament?

Did you guys just listen to Lick My Love Pump?

I did yes!

i believe the saddest key is Bb natural minor..it is accessible to penta-chords which allows it to be used in interesting ways as well.

What do you mean by penta-chord? A pentatonic scale?

Tetrachord (useful for memorizing the modes in a more abstract way)
Pentachord
Hexachord

Why don't you think other keys have access to pentachords?

I've never heard of a pentachord (the word)

I'm assuming it's something like E9 which had 5 notes in it...

erm.. dunno.

Well, in modern music it's thought of as a collection of five pitch classes. In ancient music, it has different connotations.

The pitch class C contains all C notes, no matter what register they happen to lie in.

I don't know what exactly autpt means by it. I'm just trying to figure out what his definition is.

It’s a Perfect Fifth divided into four subintervals by five tones.

Most pentachords consist of a tetrachord with a whole tone added at either the top or bottom.

The addition of Hyperhypate, a tone which is 9/8 below the tonic to the Chromatic and Enharmonic Dorian modes converts the scale from two disjunct tetrachords separated by a 9/8 in one octave to one consisting of two conjunct pentachords spanning a Major Ninth (9/4).


So says my musical prodigy middle daughter.


Yo!



Not that this has any bearing on the subject, but you might as well know, that beside Lithuanian, I do not neither speak/read Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian or Romanian for that matter.

That particular definition comes from John Chalmers' website (who's name I've never heard before). I haven't studied tuning systems with any seriousness, so...

I have the Helmholtz book (cause it's published by Dover and therefore cheap). Haven't read it. Harry Partch was extremely influenced by it, though.

Definitions of music terminology are sometimes different depending on the agenda of the composer or musicologist.

People are bored enough by music theory without microtonal music being the topic!