What variables should I consider when selecting a key?

When I begin to compose a piece, i'm actually not quite sure what key I should choose. I understand that you may need to select a key for reasons such as instrument ranges and ease of play but is their something technical for choosing a key. I mean I compose a lot for piano but I generally choose C major or c minor, just becuase those are keys that are familiar to me.

Thanks

1. do you like the key?

2. does it fit the difficulty of the piece you're writing?

3. does your piece *fit* in that key?

Well the thing is that I'm not sure what being "happiest" or what "*fits*" means. They tune sounds the same in all keys in piano (unless it is too high or to deep). Perhaps it's that, being to high or too deep - the key that gets the richest, even sound.

Yes, that's about it. On a keyboard with equal temperament there are only two differences between keys (supposed you don't have absolute pitch): How comfortable they are for playing and how high they are. And possibly a very vague third aspect: The psychological connotations to certain keys of the performer: For example, because of culturally established connotations a piece in Db minor would by many performers be interpreted as darker and duller than the same piece in C minor, even if the latter would sound exactly the same, just a half-tone lower. This isn't of course audible to a listener who doesn't know what key a piece stands in, but it -may- affect how the performer plays the piece (next to the differences that come from what C minor and Db minor feel like for the pianists hands).

On other instruments, depending on how they are tuned, there can be more or less pronounced actual differences between the various keys.

But yes, generally I'd mainly look for those two things you already mentioned: Ease of playing for that particular instrument and whether the key is just right in terms of "low" and "high".

I also think different instruments resonate better depending on the key. With stringed intruments it's obvious. A violin has G D A E strings, and when you play any of those notes, the intrument rings and it tends to sound better (assuming the player played in tune). So strings like keys that don't interfere with the open strings.

But I have also noticed that the instruments are made to sound good when the strings are tuned to the right tones. Example, my friend who plays cello, decided to tune all his strings exactly a half step lower than normal. We noticed that the instrument did not cooperate the same way as it did when he played it when tuned correctly.

This leads me to conclude that woodwinds and brass instruments like flats more than strings for more reasons than just habit. The instruments are made to sound good in those keys.

I also think you should play around with the keys before finalizing your piece. Concentrate on how you feel when you hear it in the different keys. Some keys just seem to "fit" better, like the previous person was saying. Every piece has some sort of character to it, that you the composer has created. And some keys work, when others do not. So just play around with it.

Another thing to think about, is the performers. Who are you planning on having play this? Is it a professional group, a high school group, or a junior high? Some keys are just easier to play in, I mean not many people like to play in C# major, and some would not be able to play well in that key, especially at the beginning levels.

So when you think of a key, you need to consider the instrumentation, the character, and the performers. Atleast, that's what I do.

Unless I'm writing something for someone using a 4-string bass (only goes down to a low E), I try to write the piece in the key I thought of it in. I just hum the notes and then pluck it out on the piano, and whatever key I imagined it in should be the key it's written in. Of course, you can have key changes and such, and you might end up with a different key all together if you want a clarinet solo in a certain register or something like that....

~Kal

I also think different instruments resonate better depending on the key. With stringed intruments it's obvious. A violin has G D A E strings, and when you play any of those notes, the intrument rings and it tends to sound better (assuming the player played in tune). So strings like keys that don't interfere with the open strings.

They like the open string notes, usually it will be fingered. But the note rings when it is hit on another string, which is what I meant by strings liking open strings. Not that they like to play the open string itself.

This is an interesting question, and there have been some interesting answers.

For me, it's pretty simple: what key do I hear the piece in?

I usually come up with an idea in my head (not playing an instrument), and almost invariably whatever key I hear the idea in is what I stick with. Of course, I don't usually hear music for strings in D-flat, nor would I hear a piece for winds in F-sharp minor; my mind is conditioned it seems to avoid inventing music for certain instruments or groups of instruments in keys they don't usually play or sound well in. An exception is choral and piano music, which I am liable to hear in almost any key.

To continue the discussion about strings... I like using a lot of flats, actually. Non-open notes, really. As long as the situation permits, of course. But this is because that certain notes DO project better than others, and if you are playing in the key of ... say F major, your D's, E's (or C's), A's, and G's will tend to sound just a tiny bit brighter. If that is not because they are played on open strings then it is because those open strings will resonate (sometimes harmonics thereof) with those notes mentioned. Much more noticeable in a full orchestra in some passages than a solo instrument, and not very pronounced, but still a small factor. They always tell us to avoid open strings in orchestra... except when we played a "Fiddle" tune, then he said play open strings and harmonics as much as possible. "Be rowdy and make ruckus!" It all depends on what the composer wants, I suppose. The character of the piece, I mean.

Brass instruments should probably be the least of your worries, because we have fewer limits to some extent.

However, a few things should be taken into acount when choosing a key for brass.

Range. You dont want to kill your trumpet player or horn or trombone or tuba players. For trumpet stay underneath a high Bb5 or C6 if you can help it.

Playability. Some trills and runs are going to be harder than others. Especially have to think about lip trills and other effects like that. Flutter tounging can be difficult on some notes (shouldt be a problem with good players), and there are other things. Keep in mind the tone. If your writting below the staff it has a different sound than the middle register and the high register.

Just some thoughts.

Oh and also keep in mind the fact that soem notes are really out of tune mainly C#4 and D4

This leads me to conclude that woodwinds and brass instruments like flats more than strings for more reasons than just habit. The instruments are made to sound good in those keys.

Another reason is that in sharp keys, clarinets, trumpets and saxophones will end up with a lot of sharps (unless you use clarinets in A). You'll find that most band music is written in a flat key and many arrangements for band have been transposed into a flat key. E.g. Shostakovich's festive overture, which is in A major for orchestra, but for band is in Ab (I think). If it was in A major the Alto and Baritone saxophones would be in F# major and the clarinets and trumpets would be in B which would limit the number of ensembles who could play it. Most professional wind players will be able to play in these keys but don't expect an amateur or youth group to be able to play in them.

But, as J. Lee said, generally it's best just write it in the key you hear it in your head. But be wary of writing fast passages in sharp keys for non-professional wind players.

I'd say, let X and Y be two variables when selecting a piece. How old is the driver?

In my opinion, all keys sound different. For instance, D major is a bright, happy key, whereas A major is even brighter.

Thanks very much for the replies.

When I begin to compose a piece, i'm actually not quite sure what key I should choose. I understand that you may need to select a key for reasons such as instrument ranges and ease of play but is their something technical for choosing a key. I mean I compose a lot for piano but I generally choose C major or c minor, just becuase those are keys that are familiar to me.

Thanks

Pick a key, time signature and instruments and see what comes of it.

Oh and also keep in mind the fact that soem notes are really out of tune mainly C#4 and D4

Anyone who's been playing trumpet more than about 3 weeks amends the third valve slide on those two notes to compensate for the out-of-tuneness do they not? I know I've been taught to do it from as soon as I started really.

Depends where the dart hits.

I wonder oh I wonder... do some composers refer to a synesthesia that coheres to a key due to its symbol's (being a letter of the alphabet) representation? Such as color, shade or "hidden meaning"... I feel that many musicians fall under a similar category, depending on the instrument being played. Thus any internal visual is linked to a feeling/idea, and that feeling/idea is linked to a sound, making a rare connection between inward feeling and inward sound, both of atypical proportions, expressed through music, which is a type of synesthesia. Much like nonsense. Infact, music is not far from how nonsense is expressed. But one must interpret sense to determine nonsense. A musical key would be too universal of an interpretation to limit one's ideal of sense.

Any person coheres certain keys to certain instruments. But I do know of a brilliant piano composer who entwines his music and synesthesia. (along with others of this abnormality) :P

You should go with whichever key fits your mood...whichever one you like and feel that notably delivers the composition to its best. And your opinion is the one that should matter most! Coming from a composer's perspective, I feel happy when my key is appreciated by others, but I feel happier being able to chose whichever I want. And I want what I want, not what other's want... but getting some ideas online is a good start. If you're clueless, look for more defined opinions such as this one.

Music is subjective, and any objectivity in music is merely a form of subjectivity being disclosed.