When I was a kid, like many kids, I took piano lessons. I remember in my imagination all the different notes had their own personalities. I don’t know why, but I felt particularly sympathetic towards C-sharp. I felt sorry for him, for some reason. I wasn’t overly fond of F-sharp, and E always seemed cheerful.
Who knows what prompted these childlike musings. Perhaps the monotony of practicing scales (at which I was never very good – neither the monotony, nor the scales.)
Lately I’ve had a chance to revisit the idea of each note having its own characteristics with a new series I’ve been working on for CBC Radio called The Signature Series. If A Major were a person, who would she be?
Here’s how it works:
1. Select a musical key.
2. Gather the most famous melodies composed in that key.
3. Mash them up.
4. Meet the person behind the key.
What fun — A major was really well done. I’ve recently developed an obsession with C minor, probably because it lets me use the lowest open strings on the viola and cello. Sounds like the key is often used for tragic build-ups that can then be resolved. The C Minor works that jump out at me as being representative are Beethoven’s 5th (of course), Bach’s 5th cello suite, and Shostakovich’s Symphony 8.
The key seems polarized, maybe even a bit manic-depressive — simultaneously dark/melancholic/introverted and intense/powerful/ambitious. Definitely male, and probably a guy you’re fascinated by, but don’t necessarily want to be close to — aloof, brilliant and intimidating; most likely skeptical, pessimistic or cynical, with a flair for melodrama and the self-indulgence of grand gestures. In Myer’s-Briggs terms: INTP or INTJ, masterminds and architects, maybe villians if things go badly.
Hey Jeremy,
thanks for your comments – glad you enjoyed A Major!
I can’t wait for you to hear C Minor because it’s just amazing what a similar impression that key has made on both of us. It first aired on In Concert a few weeks ago but I will be posting it on the Signature Series website very soon.
Basically everything you’ve said above – I felt the same way about C Minor. I love that.
Too funny! I didn’t realize that it had already aired — I’ll look forward to hearing it.