c - minor, is this the hardest key to compose in?

Chords, scales, harmony, melody, etc.
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I am having the hardest time trying to make a track in c minor... I should have choosen another key..



It not coming together at all and I have just wasted a whole bunch of hours on it...


wondering what I should do





( edit ) of original post. realy I would like your thoughts I have been having a hard time writing a track in this key
Last edited by johnny2johnny on Mon Sep 24, 2007 10:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
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johnny2johnny wrote:wondering what I should do
Try pressing enter less often :P

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thecontrolcentre wrote:
johnny2johnny wrote:wondering what I should do
Try pressing enter less often :P

:lol:
I used to think the internet was going to unite mankind. Now I realize the internet is perhaps mankinds greatest wasteland of bickering, greed, and narrow minds. " And we all shine on, " Imagine that.

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Some possibilities:
1) Write it in A minor, and transpose it up 3 semitones
2) Write it in D minor, and transpose it down 2 semitones
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C minor is an easy key for piano players. See if there's one nearby and tickle its ivories.

On a more practical note: try running the C- half/whole-tone diminished scale a few times up and down a piano keyboard and I'm sure you'll find your inspiration.
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It's no more easy or difficult than any other key. Myself, I love cminor! It's in a great place on the neck of a guitar for baring all over, and you can pull off the non-index fingers for a Bb/C funk; on a keyboard the blues scale in C is almost an perfect thumb/finger/tuck-under for fast runs... It's fine for most horn players, since it's the relative minor of Eb...

To me it just oozes funk when done right... ;)

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C minor was Bethoven's fave key. :hihi:

Wk

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..and he's dead now...
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WilliamK wrote:C minor was Bethoven's fave key. :hihi:

Wk
:lol: Mine too.


But yeah on a practical note there is not any theoretical reason that any one key would be harder to write in than another key of the same type. (i.e. one minor v. another). That said some people find it harder to hear things in their heads, so to speak, in some keys. So I would second the suggestion that you write in a key that is more comfortable and than if it needs to be in c-minor transpose. I would agree that if you go that way try d-minor which in addition to being close in transposition (therefore nice to timbre of synths etc.) is also "the saddest key"*







*According to Nigel Tufnel. :wink:
"Music is a hidden arithmetic exercise of the soul, which doesn't know that it is counting." - Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz
---
e to the i pi plus one equals zero

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Or just try our Wusik Tool Melody, you will always be in tune. :hihi:

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Wk

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WilliamK wrote:<shameless promo>

Or just try our Wusik Tool Melody, you will always be in tune. :hihi:

http://www.wusik.com/w/wtools.html

Wk
By the simple (not to say simplistic) expedient of locking the chord notes to the white keys.
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Now with improved MIDI jitter!

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Why do you need to write in this key? Do you need to do it on paper? Or did you just pick it out of the air?

Are you a guitar player? Then transpose up to C# minor, which is easier to play and you get the E Major at the bottom.

If you don't need to write for a specific instrument, try to use the scale degrees and figure out the notes in your head as compared to the root note.

This type of ear training is one of the most valuable skills to have as a musician/composer.

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aieda_cin wrote:try D# major for a change
I think you meant D♭ minor, that should be way easier to write in than C# minor :hihi:
My MusicCalc is temporary offline.
We are the KVR collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. :borg:

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If you're on a guitar try a capo at the 3rd fret? But if you're going for sad try Dm. It's the saddest key. Listen to the mighty Tuff's 'Lick my Love Pump' if you don't believe me.
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C00kie wrote:
aieda_cin wrote:try D# major for a change
I think you meant Db minor, that should be way easier to write in than C# minor :hihi:
Neither D# major nor Db minor are technically valid keys. (Because they would require the use of double sharps or double flats).
You can however have both Db major and D# minor.
Unfamiliar words can be looked up in my Glossary of musical terms.
Also check out my Introduction to Music Theory.

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