DIAMOND Online"The Science of Sound: Dr. John Powell Reveals Music Secrets You Don't Know"An article came out with this title.
In the book, he claims that "the idea that different emotions can be created depending on the key (major or minor) that is used first" is a misconception shared by many composers. He says,
Similarly, it's a mistake to think that starting in a key (major or minor) will create a different feeling. For example, in a Stevie Wonder song, the repeated lyrics "I just called to say I love you" are more upbeat when you raise the note halfway through. But no matter what key you start in, raising the note halfway through will have the same effect. It doesn't matter which key you start in.
--So, you're saying that many composers may be misunderstanding this?
Yes. Many composers, including Beethoven, believed that a certain key evoked a certain emotion. So when they wrote a sad piece, they used that certain key, and when they wrote a romantic piece, they used another certain key. Others followed suit.
What are you talking about? It is Dr. John Powell who does not understand. Please stop mocking great composers. Beethoven and other composers are not that stupid. The doctor was poisoned by the well-tempered piano and speaks only from his common sense and thinks it is correct. He is extremely arrogant.
When talking about this kind of thing, there is important prerequisite knowledge: the nature of temperament and the instrument used. It seems that the doctor, even though he has written a book on it, does not even know this basic fact.
What is temperament?
I'm sure you've all heard the term "well-tempered" before. It appears in works such as Bach's "Well-Tempered Piano Pieces." (By the way, this "Well-Tempered Piano Pieces" is a ridiculous mistranslation. I'll explain this later.) Well-tempered is a relatively new type of temperament that became common in the second half of the 19th century, and divides one octave equally into 1 semitones. Yes, temperament is how one octave is divided into 12 semitones.
Historically, various tunings have been used, including "Pythagorean tuning," "Just intonation," "Mean tone," "Wergmeister," and "Kirnberger." Pythagorean tuning is a tuning with perfect fifths that is suitable for singing melodies beautifully, while just intonation makes harmonies that emphasize the sound of thirds sound beautiful (although the melody is strange). Violins and cellos are Pythagorean in a sense, as each string is tuned to a perfect fifth. However, since the pitch can be freely changed during a performance, harmonies are added in just intonation. That is why string quartets have beautiful melodies and sounds. In principle, it is good to do the same for choirs, but in churches and other places with extremely long reverberations, the melody itself becomes a harmony, so in that case it is sung in just intonation. From this perspective, if you only use instruments that can freely change the pitch, you can play Pythagorean + just intonation or just just intonation depending on the place of performance.
Relationship between temperament and instruments used: In the case of keyboard instruments
Now, in both Pythagorean and just intonation, the semitones within an octave are not evenly spaced. This means that the pitch of a note changes depending on the key used, such as the pitch of G in C major being different from that of G in E flat major. This is not a problem if you are only using instruments that can freely change pitch. However, as you all know, not all instruments can freely change pitch. A typical example of an instrument that cannot change pitch is a keyboard instrument such as the piano.
Keyboard instruments produce sound by striking pre-tuned strings or plucking pipes, so the pitch cannot be freely changed while playing. [1] This means that if such instruments are tuned to Pythagoras or just intonation, very problems can occur. For example, suppose you tune it to just intonation in C major. Then,
- It sounds very tone deaf when modulating to any key other than C major.
- Because it is just intonation, the melody is strange.
This problem arises. To solve this in an ideal way, a keyboard with extremely finely divided keys for each octave would be necessary. This would make the instrument huge and extremely difficult to play. (Another solution is to change the pitch by changing the pressure on the keys, like on the clavichord. Bach loved the clavichord because it allows this. However, this would result in a loss of volume.)
So, the question is what kind of compromise should be made. Mean temperament, Bach's good temperament, Wergmeister, Kirnberger, etc. are all compromise temperaments with different advantages and disadvantages. What kind of compromise is this? It is a compromise where a certain key sounds very good, but in another key the sound becomes muddy, harsh, or strangely smooth. And there are also chords (Wolf) that sound too bad to be used. One of the techniques of composers at that time was how to avoid harmonies that could not be used under such temperaments, and how to make good use of the characteristic sounds of each harmony (the same fifth can sound different depending on whether it is wide or narrow).
As mentioned above, Well-Tempered is a relatively new temperament that began to be used at the end of the 19th century. In other words, songs written before that were written in a different temperament. The temperament of Bach's Well-Tempered Keyboard Music is written on the cover, Beethoven wrote in Kirnberger No. 2, and Chopin also wrote in Kirnberger No. 2 and No. 3. And they wrote songs making full use of the unevenness of the temperament. That's why there are songs with an unusually large number of sharps and flats. In the quote above, Dr. John Powell says, "Beethoven and many other composers believe that certain keys evoke unique emotions." But it's not that they believe this, but in the temperaments they used, certain keys evoke unique emotions.
Relationship between temperament and instruments used: In the case of orchestral instruments
Unlike keyboard instruments, most orchestral instruments can be adjusted in real time. With a violin, you can change the pitch by slightly changing the position where you press the strings, and with a flute, you can change the pitch by changing the speed and angle of your breath. So, in principle, it is possible to always play in Pythagorean + just intonation. (However, it is very difficult to get the pitch right in fast passages, and in the end, you tend to end up playing the central pitch to which the instrument is tuned.) In such cases, as Dr. John Powell says, is it the same no matter what key you play in?
The conclusion is that this is also no.
This is because each instrument sounds different depending on the key.
Consider a violin, for example. The violin has four strings, G, D, A, and E, tuned in perfect fifths from the bottom. These strings are not always held down with fingers, and in most cases several strings are open. These open strings may or may not resonate with the note currently being played. If the higher strings resonate, the sound will be bright, and if the lower strings resonate, the sound will be deep. This means that if you compose in a key where, for example, E does not resonate, the song will have a dull sound. In E Major, the tonic resonates in the octave, so the song will be bright, but in E♭ Major, the tonic does not resonate, so the song will have a mellow sound.
These sonic qualities exist for each instrument, and composers write with them in mind.
So here again, Dr. John Powell is wrong: certain keys evoke certain emotions.
Why did Dr. John Powell come to such a bizarre conclusion?
So how did Dr. John Powell come to such a ridiculous conclusion?
This is because, in one situation - and these days there are many such situations - it is true when playing a keyboard instrument tuned to equal temperament.
Currently, most pianos are tuned to equal temperament [2]. In this temperament, the sound is the same no matter what key it is played in. Yes, this is the state that the doctor was talking about. The doctor's mistake was that he extended this to other cases, such as when composers had other temperaments in mind, or when instruments are played in other temperaments than equal temperament.
I haven't read the doctor's book "How Music Works," but if something like this article is written there and spreads as an urban legend, it would be a great pity. I hope the doctor will seriously reflect on his actions.
[1] In the case of the piano, the length of the strings that vibrate varies slightly depending on whether they are played strongly or softly. When played softly, the strings do not vibrate to the end, so the sound is higher than when played strongly. Real professional pianists make full use of this to adjust the resonance of each note in the harmony and produce beautiful sounds. Now that I think about it, I once read somewhere that Argerich said something like, "The job of a pianist is to decide which key to place the fingers on and at what angle." This may also be the reason why the sound of the same piano varies surprisingly depending on the person.
[2] A tuning system that divides an octave into 12 equal semitones. In English, it is called Equal Tempered, so I think that Equal Tempered is actually the correct translation.