I prefer the flat keys sharp and the sharp keys flat. As for regular keys, I prefer when they fit my Jeep or my cabin. Much beyond that I don't have use for keys, being a guitar player.
For playing the tenor viol, I prefer six specific keys: F, G and C major and the parallel minor keys. For playing the recorder, it all depends: The alto recorder in G is better for sharp keys, the alto recorder in F (the "normal" alto recorder) is better for flat keys.
When I play piano I prefer sharp keys - for some reason it's easier. When I play bassoon it doesn't matter - any key is fine. But those double sharps and double flats!!!! When I play snare drum, cymbals or bass drum I don't care.
I can tell you that string players by far prefer sharp keys. Years ago in a college orchestration class the professor demonstrated this clearly: he had arranged a Bach piece for strings twice: in D flat and C sharp. The players struggled big time with the D flat version, but played the C sharp version remarkably better. Then going back to the D flat it was miserable again. Strings just don't like flats. In the Chicago Symphony recording of Franz Schmidt's 2nd symphony when even that great orchestra hits the part in G flat you can hear them suddenly struggle with intonation.
In sightreading, I prefer sharps, mainly because most transpositions for alto sax end up in sharp keys, so that's what I'm used to. But when I'm playing without music, I'll think of the key that's easiest to remember. Like Eb is easier for me than thinking in D#, and Bb is easier than A#.
The key of F I find most difficult to play on the keyboard. There's that one lone Bb, typically played by the thumb. The key of Bb is a little easier with the addition of the Eb. From there, I don't find much difference in playing any other key.
Playing keyboard instruments I find flat keys "easier" to play than sharp keys.
When listening there is no real difference between flat and sharp keys, provided we are talking about a=440 and equal tuning. If we are talking about modified meantone tuning (eg Werkmeister's tunings) and different pitches of a, it makes no sense to prefer anything because there is no well defined standard.
Interesting. The pianist/song leader in my church loved flat keys, especially Db. I never understood that, but I guess chords in the flat keys are more natural for the shape of the hand. Didn't Chopin start his beginners in Db or something?
I think there are slightly more famous pieces in flat keys from the classical and romantic period. (Of course there are also a lot in C major not counting for either). There seem to be far more famous pieces in d minor, g minor, c minor, f minor than in e, b or f# etc.
(Probably because going to the major loses flats but gains sharps in minor mode pieces or because the favored triumphant major keys are C and D).
There might be lots in D major but F, Bb, Eb together make easily up for this as there are not that many in A and E major, despite violin concertos having D and A as favored keys. Even if it's even for the major pieces, there certainly is not such a majority for sharps to make up the advantage of
Take the concertos and symphonies of Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Tchaikovsky
Beethoven: symphonies 2 sharp, 6 flat, 1 C; concertos 2 sharp, 3 flat, 2 C
Brahms: almost even 2-2 symphonies 2-1-1a minor concertos
Bruckner: 2 sharp - 7 flat
Tchaikovsky: symphonies 2 sharp 4 flat, concertos 2 sharp, 2 flat (if one counts the Eb major 3rd piano concerto)
I think there are slightly more famous pieces in flat keys from the classical and romantic period. (Of course there are also a lot in C major not counting for either). There seem to be far more famous pieces in d minor, g minor, c minor, f minor than in e, b or f# etc.
If this is true, it's likely because the open strings on cellos and violas include C, G, and D, which conveniently ground the keys of C minor, G minor, and D minor. Add to that the wind instruments commonly pitched on the flat side (clarinets in Bb and Eb, trumpets in Bb and F (popular in the 19thc), and horns in F, and we have the basis for a bias toward flat minor keys.
One might of course ask why the wind instruments were usually pitched in Bb when the brass had often been in D or C in the baroque.
For Bach's keyboard suites and Haydn string quartets it seems almost even, no clear imbalance, despite Haydn favoring minor keys on the flat side.
But Beethoven piano sonatas are 13:17 flat, string quartets 5:9 flat.
B flat wind instruments as a standard is relatively recent. Trumpet players frequently encounter parts for Trumpet in D, C, A, E and F. Horn parts in every key - the invention of the rotary valve really helped them. Clarinet parts are in A, B flat, and C. I used to have trombone built in G. D flat piccolos were common up until the '60s. Saxophones are pretty evenly divided between being built in E flat and B flat. Interestingly, many composers wrote bass clarinet parts in A, but there never was a bass clarinet built in that key. Tubas come in different varieties too: B flat, E flat, C and probably others. Only in the band world is there anything close to standardization of winds. It's a minefield in the orchestral arena.
It is a meaningless question for professional performers....to master an instrument, it is imperative to master all keys, all intervals, scales, arpeggios, note groupings...
of course it is easier to play woodwinds in F major, G major than it is to play in Cb major or f# minor.....but it doesn't matter...whatever is on the page, you play it, and hopefully, make it sound easy, effortless....what's on the page gets played.
It's funny - a piece like the Weber Bassoon Concerto is in F major - it sounds really amazing - fast notes galore up and down, tons pf notes....but relatively easy key to play...but sounds most impressive...
Now, the Paris Conservatory Concours [contest] Pieces??....that's a different story....they don't feature the easy scales and arpeggios...they contain all sorts of different, unusual scales and note groupings, modal scales, extreme range, some of which can be quite devilish to play...
the Weber "sounds" more difficult, but the French pieces are much more challenging.
I think it depends on the individual pianist and the physical shape/dexterity of the hands. My fingers seem much happier in sharp keys. A lot of people are terrified of B major (5 sharps) but it fits my hands much better than B flat or C - a semitone either way. I find F uncomfortable, but F sharp major (6 sharps) is easy. Others will no doubt have other opinions.
As a musician, I prefer a flat to a sharp. As a listener, it's all pretty arbitrary except for the A=440hz convention. I tend to like works in Bb thru C#/Db, but barely more than others.
The problem with general statistics is that all the minor works are included, e.g. those for beginners in easier keys or barytone trios. There are only two major works in a minor (double concerto and clarinet trio) by Brahms and two not even really major in G major by Tchaikovsky (2nd piano concerto and Grand sonate), so I am not sure mere counting reflects key preferences.
But I think it reflects correctly that Viennese classicism before Beethoven focussed more on a narrow range of main keys whereas in the later 19th century the distribution is more even and Beethoven and Bach (and probably also other baroque) are in between.
When I got my first paying job (traditional jazz) I found most of the numbers were in flat keys so naturally I found these the easiest, also playing in trio, quartets and quintets (ad lib) the flat keys dominated but in all of these Ens key changes within a number were common. I suppose the leader chose which key.
From memory in Dance Band where music scores were used the sharp and flat keys were divided.
In classical anything goes so you need to be prepared.
I have no idea what keys any of the music I listen to is in, even if it is in the title I don't pay much attention. Now if someone said one of these options was predominantly associated with modern music, vs the other with classical era, then I would know how to vote.
Two of my top ten symphonies are in D Minor (Beethoven 9, Sibelius 6). But then, Mahler 6 and Sibelius 4 are in A Minor. Oh, and Shostakovich 11 and Roussel 3 are in G Minor...I could go on...
On the other hand, there's not many in C Major that are in my top 20...
For me, it's always been much much easier to sight-read piano pieces with flats. Don't know why though.
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