Why are musicians so obsessed with what keys their songs are in? Why can't they just start playing or singing in whatever key they want? Why do certain musicians have a "favorite key?" Don't they all sound the same? Why are they so snobby about their keys?!
As someone who grew up in the music world, these are questions that I hear more often than not. A lot of the time they are asked in a large group setting, and I never seem to have the time nor the patience to answer these questions in a clear way, so what better way to answer your questions than in an article?
Let's start with what I mean when I say "key." Put simply, a key is a set of eight pitches that create a uniform sound, depending on which key you are in. In C major, the seven notes (C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C) create a "happy" sound that you find in most music. From there you can find the melody, chords, and harmonies that will enhance the musical sound.
Let's get to the first question: why are we musicians so darn particular in what keys our songs are in?
Let me start by saying that it is different for every person-- some people love all keys and don't have any preference, while others demand the attention of only a few.
From an instrumentalist standpoint, some keys are easier to play in than others. On the piano, for example, C major consists of only white keys, making it easy to play. B Major, on the other hand, has only two white keys and five black keys. It can be tricky to keep track of what pitches lie on a white note or on a black note, and that's what makes B Major a little bit tricky. :)
From a vocalist's standpoint, some keys are easier to sing in than others. If the key is too high or too low for the melodic line, it can be difficult and sometimes be taxing to sing. Experienced vocalists know how to maintain a resonant sound throughout multiple keys despite how high or how low, but for others, it can be difficult to maintain proper tuning and technique in difficult keys.
So put simply, some keys are harder to create music with than others, and it is different for every musician. That's why we have to be so picky! We know what works best for us, so trust us when we say that we need to change the key!
The second question is a little bit more tricky (but you've made it this far!): Why do certain musicians have a "favorite key?" Don't they all sound the same?
As previously stated, some keys are easier to play or sing than others, and we all have that key that we love to create music with. For example, I love the key of G major. I love playing it on the piano because it only has one black note (F sharp), and it is high enough for my voice to project, without straining my voice.
The second part of the question has some history to it.
First, all keys are not the same. Every time you say that all keys sound the same, a musician dies. (Ok, maybe not die, but definitely faint.)
No! All keys are not the same! If they were the same then there would be no point in making music! The piano would only have 7 notes instead of 88! Ah!
In the beginning of "music," Pythagorus (yes, the same guy who invented the Pythagorean Theorem), created tuning. He tuned by ear, and developed what was known as "Mean Tone Tuning." This tuning meant that Octaves were not in tune with each other. (For example, C4 was not the same pitch as C5.) This was the way that instruments were tuned all the way up until the Baroque period (1600-1750), until "Equal Tone Temperament" became the popular form of tuning. Because this form of tuning was not an exact process and not as exact as our tuning process today, each key did, in fact, sound different.
Today, B Major sounds "happy," and B Minor sounds "sad."
The same thing is true for the 22 other keys because we tune with "Well tempered tuning."
But during the beginning of the Baroque period, it was tuned with Equal tone, so each key actually sounded significantly different than the last.
Today, we make sure that all the keys sound the same, so technically our way of tuning is actually incorrect. But that's another story!
The point is, that's the reason why musicians have favorite keys.
They used to all sound different!
So next time a musician becomes obsessed over what key they want their piece in, you understand why! Musicians know music--that's why they are musicians! They know what works best for them, and what sounds good for the piece that they are playing.
So give musicians grace, love and encouragement- they know what they are doing, and they know how to better express the music by picking what key they are in.
