articles / Chapman Challenge

Chapman Challenge: How Does a Composer Pick the Key for a Piece?


KUSC’s Alan Chapman has a lot to say about music, but can he say it in 60 seconds? That’s the Chapman Challenge. We ask a question and Alan has a minute to answer it.

Today’s question comes from Earl Kellner in Riverside. The question is how does a composer pick the specific key for a piece?

Hit play below to listen to this week’s Chapman Challenge on Arts Alive.  
Chapman Challenge: How Does a Composer Pick the Key for a Piece?
   

In many cases, the choice of key has to do with technical matters: the range of certain instruments and voices, how their sound might differ from key to key. For example, you’ll find a lot of 18th century symphonies in the key of D. That key increases the use of open strings, that is, notes where you don’t have to put a finger down, and that creates an overall brighter sound.

Composers may also have personal affinities for certain keys. For Beethoven, E-flat major was the heroic key, the key of his Eroica symphony and the Emperor Concerto. Beethoven also had a thing for C minor, the key of the Pathetique sonata, the Third Piano Concerto and the Fifth Symphony.

And sometimes a key is chosen to make a connection to an earlier piece by a different composer. For example, in 1902 Alexander Glazunov composed his Seventh Symphony, which he named “Pastoral.” Ninety-four years earlier Beethoven composed his Sixth Symphony, also called the “Pastoral.” Beethoven’s symphony is in F major. What key do you think Glazunov chose? Yes, F major.

That’s today’s Chapman Challenge. Is there a question you’d like to have answered in 60 seconds? Send it to us at [email protected].

Written by:
Alan Chapman
Alan Chapman
Published on 04.01.2019

MORE LIKE THIS

What’s the Relationship Among the Movements in a Symphony?

What’s the Relationship Among the Movements in a Symphony?

In this Chapman Challenge, Alan discusses the harmonic and melodic relationships among the movements of a symphony, using Beethoven's Fifth Symphony as an example.

Chapman Challenge
04/01/2019
Chapman Challenge: Do Composers Write for Each Instrument?

Chapman Challenge: Do Composers Write for Each Instrument?

Explore the process of symphony composition in this Chapman Challenge. Learn how composers craft each note for every instrument, and the role of orchestrators in Broadway and film music.

Chapman Challenge
04/01/2019
Chapman Challenge: What Is a Rondo?

Chapman Challenge: What Is a Rondo?

Explore the rondo, a popular musical form often used in concertos and symphonies, known for its recurring refrain and contrasting sections. Learn how composers play with its structure for listener enjoyment.

Chapman Challenge
04/01/2019
Chapman Challenge: What Is a Chaconne?

Chapman Challenge: What Is a Chaconne?

In this Chapman Challenge, Alan Chapman explains the chaconne, a Baroque musical form built on a repeated series of chords, using Henry Purcell's work as an example.

Chapman Challenge
04/01/2019
Chapman Challenge: What is a Sonata?

Chapman Challenge: What is a Sonata?

In this Chapman Challenge, Alan Chapman explains the origin and evolution of the term 'sonata' in music, from its Italian roots to its use in the Classical and Baroque periods.

Chapman Challenge
04/01/2019
What is the Most Common Key for a Symphony and Why?

What is the Most Common Key for a Symphony and Why?

In this Chapman Challenge, Alan explains why D major is the most common key for a symphony, highlighting its popularity among 18th-century composers like Haydn and Mozart.

Chapman Challenge
03/01/2020