Musical Key Characteristics

The following is a piece that I have found online about musical keys and their believed interpretations.

I have never properly thought of key signature in the sense of its feel, I often write a piece in whichever key I feel to be natural and if it does not provide the right tone will experiment by transposing to other keys. In a sense I guess that yes I have thought about the characteristics of musical keys in terms of how they feel and sound to me when writing but I have not formally looked into this as a research topic and how the characteristics of a key may imply certain things. 

Much of these stem from established themes created in 18th/19th century music that over time have established themselves through our knowledge of these past pieces. 

When composing my practical piece of work, I began in the key of Cminor. Although happy with the feel of the melody, I was not happy with how the key itself sounded in terms of the richness of the dispair that I wanted to create, although I admit that I did play around  with the melody in various keys before further researching the characteristics of keys, it was after reading this piece that I believed B minor to be the ideal key, the 'key of dispair'.

I don't believe that these should be strict rules to stick to as I don't believe one key can some up any one thought, It is however associated with these thoughts through their use throughout the ages so just like musical conventions can be used to further instate a feeling that a listener may instantly recognise. Being that my musical theme is to tell the tale of a characters dispair then why not write in a key that classically concludes the feeling of dispair within its scale.


From Christian Schubart's Ideen zu einer Aesthetik der Tonkunst (1806) translated by Rita Steblin in A History of Key Characteristics in the 18th and Early 19th Centuries. UMI Research Press (1983). 

C major	Completely pure. Its character is: innocence, simplicity, naïvety, children's talk.
C minor	Declaration of love and at the same time the lament of unhappy love. All languishing, longing, sighing of the love-sick soul lies in this key.
Db major	A leering key, degenerating into grief and rapture. It cannot laugh, but it can smile; it cannot howl, but it can at least grimace its crying.--Consequently only unusual characters and feelings can be brought out in this key.
D major	The key of triumph, of Hallejuahs, of war-cries, of victory-rejoicing. Thus, the inviting symphonies, the marches, holiday songs and heaven-rejoicing choruses are set in this key.
D minor	Melancholy womanliness, the spleen and humours brood.
D# minor	Feelings of the anxiety of the soul's deepest distress, of brooding despair, of blackest depresssion, of the most gloomy condition of the soul. Every fear, every hesitation of the shuddering heart, breathes out of horrible D# minor. If ghosts could speak, their speech would approximate this key.
Eb major	The key of love, of devotion, of intimate conversation with God.
E major	Noisy shouts of joy, laughing pleasure and not yet complete, full delight lies in E Major.
F major	Complaisance & calm.
F minor	Deep depression, funereal lament, groans of misery and longing for the grave.
F# major	Triumph over difficulty, free sigh of relief utered when hurdles are surmounted; echo of a soul which has fiercely struggled and finally conquered lies in all uses of this key.
F# minor	A gloomy key: it tugs at passion as a dog biting a dress. Resentment and discontent are its language.
G major	Everything rustic, idyllic and lyrical, every calm and satisfied passion, every tender gratitude for true friendship and faithful love,--in a word every gentle and peaceful emotion of the heart is correctly expressed by this key.
G minor	Discontent, uneasiness, worry about a failed scheme; bad-tempered gnashing of teeth; in a word: resentment and dislike.
Ab major	Key of the grave. Death, grave, putrefaction, judgment, eternity lie in its radius.
Ab minor	Grumbler, heart squeezed until it suffocates; wailing lament, difficult struggle; in a word, the color of this key is everything struggling with difficulty.
A major	This key includes declarations of innocent love, satisfaction with one's state of affairs; hope of seeing one's beloved again when parting; youthful cheerfulness and trust in God.
A minor	Pious womanliness and tenderness of character.
Bb major	Cheerful love, clear conscience, hope aspiration for a better world.
Bb minor	A quaint creature, often dressed in the garment of night. It is somewhat surly and very seldom takes on a pleasant countenance. Mocking God and the world; discontented with itself and with everything; preparation for suicide sounds in this key.
B major	Strongly coloured, announcing wild passions, composed from the most glaring coulors. Anger, rage, jealousy, fury, despair and every burden of the heart lies in its sphere.
B minor	This is as it were the key of patience, of calm awaiting ones's fate and of submission to divine dispensation.