At 11/4/12 12:16 AM, samulis wrote:
No one else is writing theirs in Db Major? Aww...
Why does it matter what keys we write in? Yeah, there are some characteristics that different keys and tonal centers have, but really the only reason why changing a key would be for the purposes of live players, playability, and sound quality.
You should know though that keys change with transposing instruments like horns, trumpets, and even those that are transposed up an octave on the score like the contrabass.
Some keys make it so brass players have to use more valve keys, weakening their intonation and limiting some potential compositionally that is playable, even in samples a key can change how an instrument sounds. Enharmonics can screw up so many things.
Also, if you write your piece in B, you can have the harp written in Cb so that the harp pedal diagram would look like this
Db Cb Bb | Eb Fb Gb Ab
When all the harp pedals are up, they are more lose and make for better resonance. I usually end up writing harp music in a different key just to get a better sound from the harp.
I've also found myself writing in some sort of E tonality/centricity (12-tone lingo here) since most lower brass instruments can't go any lower than that, and sometimes I want a piece that has the lowest playable notes for brass. Contrabass players might not have the low C extension which EWQL and other libraries spoil us with.
Mines in Ebmaj :)
