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Subject:
From:
Alan Dudley <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 1 Aug 2000 13:03:50 +1000
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David Runnion quoted (actually - quoted a quotation):

>"particular characteristics of certain keys, e.g., the brilliancy of A
>major, the softness of D flat major, can only be appreciated fully through
>absolute pitch."

And commented:

>...  The characteristics of certain keys are undeniable but they have the
>same effect on everybody in that WalMart whether they have perfect pitch or
>not.

Without disagreeing with anything he wrote, I seek confirmation of this
particular part.  Do the characteristics of different keys differ now that
we all - well most of us - use equal temperament tuning?

Is the character of a piece changed if it is transposed? Is this merely a
tradition carried over from the days when the keys were actually different
because of the tuning of the instruments used?

I don't have perfect pitch, even my sense of relative pich is uncertain,
and I have never been able to distinguish transpositions from the same
piece played in its original key(s).  Is it just my personal handicap, or
is there really no aesthetic difference?

I can still enjoy music though!

Alan Dudley
<[log in to unmask]>

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