Music myths!

[AK]

I have a book I am reading at the minute called: 'How Music Works', ( I think some of you recently mentioned the series - which was on TV )

Anyway, here's something which I read which I had no idea about. Apparently, ALL key sigs, ( IE: Any Major scale for instance ) invoke no different emotion than the next.

This might seem obvious to some but I was always under the impression that F# minor for example, has a different emotional effect than say, B minor, or C major is more jolly than G major. Apparently, it's a complete myth. I happened to mention F# minor there as it's always been a favourite key of mine. I think it happens to be dark and brooding and there's a healthy amount of metal tunes written in this sig too. But apparently, it's all bullsh!t. Hell, even Beethoven had different emotional connections for different scales - I'm not talking about the difference between major or minor keys etc, I'm obviously on about any difference between a given scale depending on root key.

I'm not sure I can agree with what this guy is saying ( john powell )

This is the book I'm reading , http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Book/BookDi ... 51,00.html I'm not at home at the minute so can't quote but there have been experiments which 'apparently' prove he is correct.

Anyone got any views on this sort of thing?

[steevio]

i was looking into this last year, and read the same thing from another source.

there is obviously a difference between a major and minor scale, but apparently not the roots.

i did a test on myself and couldnt tell any difference.

however, personally i dont beleive that different frequency ranges all have the same effect on us, thats got to be bullshit.
they are vibrations, and different frequency vibrations must have different effects on our minds and bodies, i think that maybe they are just too subtle to be picked up in a simple test.

[hydrogen]

A/B testing and double blind testing is great and the only way to truly scientifically test something... but ultimately I'm imagining these tests are such isolated examples and do nothing to provide a truly spiritual, emotional experience. To me music is a tool which connects you with your higher self and different tonality/arrangements bring different aspects of that to the awareness. This is my personal experience and for me its validated by just that.

[Stomper]

I believe this is true. that is why when people talk about chord progression they say the number (not sure how its called) of the chord within the scale, regardless of the scale it self.
the way i see it is that the relationship between one chord to another is what gives us a certain feel (just an example, could be the relationship between certain notes as well). when you change a progression or a melody to a different key, the relationship remains the same, and so does the feel it gives.

i think some scales like Cmaj might sound better only because were used to hear them for very long time. i heard that more than 90% of kids songs are written in that key. dont know if its true though

[obscurerobot]

It is also worth considering how instruments are tuned. Today we deal primarily with equal temperament tunings. Equal temperament ensures that tones and semitones maintain consistent relationships across an octave. Prior to the adoption of equal temperament, numerous different tunings were in use, all of which would create scales with different microtonal relationships. So if you aren't using equal temperament tuning then different scales will, by definition, sound different.

[kdgh]

it's about the distance of played notes/frequencies.
a average musician/above average musician can tell you instantly when something is major/minor/phrygian/lydian/mixolydian and whatsoever, cause they hear the distance between the notes/frequencies. Every certain scale has its effect, and every frequency band has it's effect.

It's no rocket science... it's just math. And i'm really not kidding.

edit: this is for western understanding of music theory/structure

[steevio]

^^^
@kgdh - this isnt in dispute mate, its not what AK is saying.

he is saying that we cannot perceive different emotional effects from the same scale but with different roots. (eg, D#lydian and F#lydian)

i personally dont believe it, purely on principles of vibration. we are vibrational beings, our brainwaves are well - waves. any vibrations around us are bound to interfere and harmonise with the billions of different vibrations in our bodies and brains, eg some ultra low frequencies can make our bowels and stomachs go into spams and kill us.

but on a subtle level, i think it would be very hard to test for the effects, as we are also emotional beings, and there may be stronger emotions masking them. i also think that it is likely to be a very personal thing anyway, in otherwords different frequencies may have different effects on different people for millions of reasons.

the tibetan monks are very specific about which frequencies they use. they always sing with a sub bass note of C, and harmonize with two notes D# and F# (or their non-western equivalent) two octaves higher (all at the same time, they are the only people who can sing in chords) they do it by vibrating different parts of their bodies, chest, throat and nose, and they believe that it brings enlightenment.
if you said to them 'go on sing it in Bb', they wouldnt comprehend.

[obscurerobot]

the tibetan monks are very specific about which frequencies they use. they always sing with a sub bass note of C, and harmonize with two notes D# and F# (or their non-western equivalent) two octaves higher (all at the same time, they are the only people who can sing in chords) they do it by vibrating different parts of their bodies, chest, throat and nose, and they believe that it brings enlightenment.
if you said to them 'go on sing it in Bb', they wouldnt comprehend.

Do you have any references for this? Not because I doubt you, but because I'd like to learn more.