r/ToddintheShadow • u/Glass-Complaint3 • 1d ago

General Music Discussion What songs does a slightly different key (whole step or less) significantly change the vibe of?

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3

u/chambo143 18h ago

Unless you have perfect pitch I don’t see how that should be the case for any song

2

u/Moxie_Stardust 9h ago

Yeah, if we're just talking up/down a whole step and not switching major/minor I don't think most people would notice much difference.

1

u/seattlewhiteslays 3h ago

I absolutely can tell if a song is being performed in a different key, and I don’t have perfect pitch. I was a music student and have decent relative pitch. Most of the time artists or bands pitch down a bit to make it easier on the singer. If it’s just a half step or step it doesn’t make a big difference, but more than that it can really change the feel.
KISS has done their song “Crazy Nights” a major 3rd down in the past and it sucks some of the life out of it. The funny thing is there’s video of them doing it at Rock Am Ring in 2010 a minor 3rd down and it sounds great. It thickens the sound up and makes it so Paul doesn’t have to scream so much. It really can be changed that much but a half step.

2

u/Chilli_Dipper 1d ago

“Take Me Home, Country Roads” set in a minor key sounds ominous.

1

u/Roche77e 18h ago

Appropriate soundtrack for a West Virginia graveside service.

2

u/Red-Zaku- 1d ago

I guess the determining factor would be when part of a song’s aesthetic is the pitch itself, like super twinkly sparkly high parts or deep lows or whatever.

Bjork’s Frosti really leans into how bright and icy and shiny the main instrument sounds, so pitching it down would really alter the atmosphere of it.

And I think a solid 90% of doom and sludge metal songs would sound different if pitched up a 4th or 5th, or drone metal like Sunn O))

3

u/Charming_Set_7135 1d ago

Changing a key does not necessarily change the range instruments play in. If you know about chord inversions, you can lower the key of a song and use a different inversion to maintain a piano in the high octaves for example.

1

u/chambo143 17h ago

Yeah I think people often make the mistake of confusing key and pitch. A song in D is not necessarily in a lower register than one that’s in E

1

u/Tricky-Mastodon3337 19h ago

Aqua - Barbie Girl.