What is the "official" system to be used to give names to musical keys?
Is there any?
It would avoid this like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_signat ... anslations
...and would make my life easier when I study my scales and chords.
Musical keys International Standard System
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- KVRist
- 467 posts since 6 Feb, 2005 from Portugal
Hello
What is the "official" system to be used to give names to musical keys?
Is there any?
It would avoid this like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_signat ... anslations
...and would make my life easier when I study my scales and chords.
What is the "official" system to be used to give names to musical keys?
Is there any?
It would avoid this like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_signat ... anslations
...and would make my life easier when I study my scales and chords.
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- KVRAF
- 2830 posts since 2 Mar, 2003 from The only civilized county in Texas
What's wrong with that link? That system is 1/ official, and 2/ pretty systematic. I've never seen anything better.rbarata wrote:Hello
What is the "official" system to be used to give names to musical keys?
Is there any?
It would avoid this like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_signat ... anslations
Victor.
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- KVRist
- 211 posts since 28 Apr, 2009 from Ft. Lauderdale, FL
I think you should use a generic number system instead of actual note names or anything like that. You should be able to generate scales and chords easily with this method. Some examples:
Chromatic scale: 1 b2 2 b3 3 4 b5 5 b6 6 b7
Major scale: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Natural minor scale: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
Melodic minor scale: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7
Harmonic minor scale: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7
Major triad: 1 3 5
Minor triad: 1 b3 5
Major seventh chord: 1 3 5 7
Minor seventh chord: 1 b3 5 b7
Chromatic scale: 1 b2 2 b3 3 4 b5 5 b6 6 b7
Major scale: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Natural minor scale: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
Melodic minor scale: 1 2 b3 4 5 6 7
Harmonic minor scale: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7
Major triad: 1 3 5
Minor triad: 1 b3 5
Major seventh chord: 1 3 5 7
Minor seventh chord: 1 b3 5 b7
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- KVRAF
- 2830 posts since 2 Mar, 2003 from The only civilized county in Texas
Then you get the confusion between b2 and #1. Better then to use numbers 1 through 12.psenior wrote:I think you should use a generic number system instead of actual note names or anything like that. You should be able to generate scales and chords easily with this method. Some examples:
Chromatic scale: 1 b2 2 b3 3 4 b5 5 b6 6 b7
Except of course if you play pre-romantic music or non-western, where there is a difference between C# and Db, or where there can be notes in between C and C#.
Victor.
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- KVRist
- 441 posts since 30 Apr, 2007
The key signature itself is an international notation! I don't see my life being any better if I had to learn the Italian or German word for "sharp" and "flat".
Although if someone wants to change the English protocol to "sharp" and "blunt", it would really make more sense.
Although if someone wants to change the English protocol to "sharp" and "blunt", it would really make more sense.
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- KVRist
- 31 posts since 10 Mar, 2004 from Orlando
Ha, well if we're talking "international", which includes Indian, China, and other Far Eastern systems, as well as the Middle Eastern or Arabic tonalities, then 12 tones would not be enough. And let's not forget the historical Pythagorean tunings, meantone temperaments, and Greek tetrachords. Oh yeah, there's also the more academic microtonal world, with its 19, 24, 33 or 50 something tone, 33 tone
See what I mean here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_musical_intervals
Some things are just beyond standardization. Or put another way, some things are made "standard" after the fact, like music or computer operating systems, while other standards are "forced upon" their subject material "before" the chaos gets too much, like IEEE or ANSI standards. That which is a standard after the fact is hard-pressed to abandon its history and conform to some new, arbitrary standard "just cuz we say so" or it is more theoretically coherent. If we could do that, then we could have just one language for all. Science comes close, and may yet be our saving grace in the end.
Eh, who cares anyway. We have what we have, and it works.
See what I mean here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_musical_intervals
Some things are just beyond standardization. Or put another way, some things are made "standard" after the fact, like music or computer operating systems, while other standards are "forced upon" their subject material "before" the chaos gets too much, like IEEE or ANSI standards. That which is a standard after the fact is hard-pressed to abandon its history and conform to some new, arbitrary standard "just cuz we say so" or it is more theoretically coherent. If we could do that, then we could have just one language for all. Science comes close, and may yet be our saving grace in the end.
Eh, who cares anyway. We have what we have, and it works.
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- KVRian
- 1084 posts since 12 Sep, 2008 from Your basement
You mean like a UN appointed "Ministry of Scales and Keys"? God that would suck. Most musicians are too libertarian to put up with having to submit to a centralized authority on the musical language.
At least I hope so.
At least I hope so.
).