On 12/22/06, Daniel P. B. Smith wikipedia2006@dpbsmith.com wrote:
Nit-picks/genuine questions (my musical literacy is almost nil): what is "the" key of a piece of music which modulates into many different keys and has different key signatures marked within the score? Is it a general rule or custom or convention that the first key signature which appears in the score is "the" key signature?
I think convention is that the first key signature is "the" one. But for certain styles, it's certainly possible to have an introduction in a different key...it would be very simplistic to imply that any lay person could successfully determine the key of any piece by following rules listed in Wikipedia.
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...
So, this was a bad example, but that's probably all.
Steve