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There’s a key frequency chart and it makes sense that C and G are so popular. What didn’t make sense to me is why D and A aren’t more popular. Eb and F are some
by ssharp 8y ago
There’s a key frequency chart and it makes sense that C and G are so popular. What didn’t make sense to me is why D and A aren’t more popular. Eb and F are somehow more popular. If this list is dominated by guitar, I’d expect D and A to be more popular since you can play I, IV, and V in those keys using open chords.
- arthurdenture 8y agoEb is probably disproportionately popular due to the common practice of tuning guitars down a half step, making Eb instead of E the natural/easy root chord. I'm not sure why F would be more popular than D and A. One hypothesis would be that it has fewer accidentals; it's not a fun key for guitars, but many contemporary pop songs aren't guitar-driven anyway.
- edejong 8y agoHypothesis time: the predisposition to flats is due to Big Band, Blues and Jazz music being predisposed to it. And there it is logical due to the B flat and E flat tuning of the horns (their C is our B flat or E flat).