On 12/22/06, Daniel P. B. Smith
<wikipedia2006(a)dpbsmith.com> wrote:
Nit-pick number two: how do you tell by looking at
the music whether
it is in C Major or A Minor? That is, can you always unequivocally
tell the key of a piece of music by glancing at it, or is judgement
sometimes involved?
To a musical expert, it's usually pretty clear, but there are
exceptions. And don't forget atonal music which is usually written
without a specific key signature (ie, superficially like C major and I
minor). And some music actually does have a "key" but was originally
published with no key, using accidentals instead. You would be wrong
to describe such a piece as being in C major...
I think the question had more to do with verifying a claim that a
particular musical work is in C major. It would seem a waste of time if
every time the description of a piece of music included its key there
would need to be a source to establish that as true.
If someone claims that a piece of music is in C major I have to accept
that without the need to go through a mini-course on music theory.
Ec