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Favorite keys to Produce in?


livinlrg

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Im working on learning more about music theory and improving me piano skills. I was just wondering what was everyones favorite keys to produce electronic music in. Do you have a main key you usually work in or are you all over? Mostly minor? Ive heard that some of lover keys like C are not good for bass music can't be heard on some big systems. Could someone explain this stuff to me. I obviously need some help. THANK YOU!!
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livinirg,

 

What other people's favorite keys are shouldn't matter at all. Every key evokes a different feeling. Sometimes I'll start something in one key and then transpose it up a half or whole step to make it sound brighter or darker. I don't limit myself to using only certain keys, except in the case where I'm working with a vocalist, in which case the key of my initial idea may need to be altered to accommodate their range. So for me, all keys are available at all times. And they should be to you too. Read on...

 

Keys lower than C not good for music played on big systems? Is that something you read on the Internet, where everything you read is true? :lol: Anyway, this concept is pretty much entirely total bullsh!t. First of all, whether or not a bass sound cuts has a lot to do with the bass sound itself, not necessarily the key. If your sound is a sine wave bass or something similarly "dull", you might have problems hearing that on any system, even in the key of C major or C minor. In fact, many of the notes might get swallowed up every time the kick drum hits.

 

I'm going to strongly suggest that you not create music based on how well it sounds on a sound system based on some kind of theory about keys and sound systems. Write music in the key that gives you the feeling you want.

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One time, after visiting the optometrist, I went home and wrote a song in...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Damn, I just can't do it. Not even me, Mr. Punsalot, would dare stoop so low.

 

 

 

 

Nope, not gonna go there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Never mind"

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The key you choose to write in really is rather arbitrary. Unless you have perfect pitch and/or a very specific reason to use a specific scale, you should always use what feels most natural to you. I usually find the most “natural to me” to be whichever chord I played first when channeling a new song idea.

 

Having said that, you would find - if you really felt the need to research it - certain keys (scales) are far more common by virtue of their performance simplicity (or lack thereof) on a given instrument. A ‘D Major’ is quite easy to learn on guitar and it happens to sound nice when combined with other similarly easy-to-learn chords like C Major and G Major. The ease with which people can play these chords contributes greatly to the prevalence of their associated keys.

 

So, the most common scales are those which, over long periods of time*, the largest number of people have found easiest to play.

On a common guitar in standard tuning, the most common scales align with the open strings: E, A, D, G.

On a piano, the most common scales have the fewest black keys: C Major, A minor, G Major, E minor, D Major, B minor, F Major, D minor...

 

(* Jack Dangers, we need you)

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Always depends - the song should always dictate key. Different keys have different qualities, even though there are technically 12 major or 12 minor keys, they all will have a bit of a different mood to them. Usually a theme pops into my head and I try to play it and get it out in that same key. If I ever try to transpose, it doesn't turn out the same :shock:
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Always depends - the song should always dictate key. Different keys have different qualities, even though there are technically 12 major or 12 minor keys, they all will have a bit of a different mood to them. Usually a theme pops into my head and I try to play it and get it out in that same key. If I ever try to transpose, it doesn't turn out the same :shock:

Excellent point. I remember learning in one of my Music History classes in college that the key of Eb Major was reserved for royalty as its particular qualities were considered heavenly. Sort of the polar opposite of the infamous 'diabolus in musica' / tritone of Inquisition-era infamy.

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Often I write in Bb or Eb. I guess it's the years of playing with horn players, but that's where my fingers land. Although, in reality, things pop up in all sorts of keys for all sorts of reasons.

 

If you are writing for acoustic instruments, you need to consider how notes sound in different ranges. A trumpet, for example, sounds every different in the lower register than the upper register and you want the trumpet parts to have lots of high energy, you might pick a key that keeps the range of notes up high.

 

It's much the same thing as putting the notes in the right part of a singer's range. Not just within the range they can sing, but also, more importantly, the right range for the vocal sound that suits the song.

 

And, sometimes, picking a key can be a really useful way to get out of a rut. I'm currently working on something I wrote in Bm, which is not a key I normally gravitate to. But, trying to come up with a riff in that key was a challenge that pushed me in a different direction. It helped me come up with some fresh ideas.

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My view of it is this.

 

A great song is a great song. Period.

 

The average listener has no idea what the key of a song is.

 

You could create every song you make in the key of C and the vast majority of people wouldn't know the difference. They don't even consider the key. They only know that it either sounds good to them or sounds like crap to them.

 

Again, a great song is a great song.

 

That is all.

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