Matthew Fields wrote:
> In article <dbv7qu$mgq$1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,
> Albert Silverman <slvrmn@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> >The Tortoise:
> >
> > Can anyone tell me how I can tell what key a piece is simply by
> > listening to it?
> >
> >The Hatter:
> >
> > Certainly, Gentleman-with-the-Shell.
> >
> > It is probable that some tones will appear more frequently than
other
> > tones. Therefore, all you have to do is listen for those tones
which
> > appear most frequently. Then discard the remaining tones and see
if
> > you can fit the tones which appear most frequently into a
particular
> > major or harmonic minor scale.
> >
> > Locate the first degree of this scale. This is your tonic. Then
get a
> > bottle of gin and use it to wash down the tonic. Now close your
eyes
> > and, after a few minutes, you won't *care* what key the piece is
in.
> >
> >The Tortoise:
> >
> > Should we use sloe gin?
> >
> >Alice:
> >
> > Nonsense! The particular tones that are used in a chord-based
> > composition have nothing at all to do with the identity of the
> > tonal center, which is the most vital piece of information in a
> > "tonal" composition. In a tightly-knit composition (i.e., where
> > the identity of the tonal center is strong throughout the entire
> > piece), the tonal center is determined by departure-and-return,
> > synchronized with the melodic phrasing.
> >
> > Everyone knows that.
> >
> >The Tortoise:
> >
> > I don't know that, my dear--whatever it was that you just said; I
> > wasn't fast enough to catch it.
> >
> > But it really isn't important. What *is* important is that I just
> > love gin and tonic. How do you think that I ever got interested in
> > music in the first place?
> >
> >The Frog:
> >
> > I'm with you, Gentleman-with-the-Shell.
> >
> > Gin and tonic are a helluva lot better than formaldehyde!
Listen for the chord structure.
Most composers will start with the root tone, or root chord, and then
proceed to a familar frame, so to speak, as to _how_ they compose.
In guitar rock, the basic structure is 1,4,5. The rest of the song is
composed around that structure.
Classical music is a bit different, but generally the piece will start
with either the root chord, or the fourth or fifth. Generally,
classical pieces also end with either the root chord or the fifth.
You can train your ear to recognize tone, or keys, as your eyes learn
color.
If you take a music theory class it will help, and practice makes
perfect.
> >
> >
> >-----------------------------
> >Albert Silverman
> >(Al is in Wonderland!)
> >where relevance is irrelevant
> >(12)
>
>
> --
> Matthew H. Fields http://www.umich.edu/~fields
> Music: Splendor in Sound
> To be great, do better and better. Don't wait for talent: no such
thing.
> Brights have a naturalistic world-view. http://www.the-brights.net/
|
