Re: Key signatures in modes other than Ionian & Aeolian

[Lukas-Fabian Moser]

Am 17.04.2018 um 01:24 schrieb Torsten Hämmerle:

> Even if my opinion may differ from the general opinion here, I think that in
> popular music, one would use standard D major key signature.
> Reason: Two sharps clearly show D major tonic and the characteristic mixo
> tone C (flat seventh) stands out in the sheet music by the accidental used.
I very much agree. In my impression, nowadays most musicians (save 
medieval or Renaissance music specialists and maybe Jazz musicians) tend 
to only differentiate between "major-like" and "minor-like" scales/keys, 
which means that every modal scale is measured against the one of the 
two "standard" scales/keys more similar to what is at hand. So, having 
two sharps in the key signature will most probably be read as 
"major-like tune with tonic D", which is exactly what should come 
across, even in the music leans more toward, e.g., mixolydian mode. (In 
fact, more ofthen than not there are elements characteristic of more 
standard major/minor tonality in such a tune, for instance think of the 
e-Dorian mittle eight in "Norwegian Wood" which concludes with a regular 
cadenza in E major.)

If you write your D-mixolydian tune with just one sharp, I see two 
equally unfortunate possibilites: Either musicians will correctly 
recognize D as the tonic and play C sharp all the time (since this is 
what they're used to in a major-like tune with tonic D), or they look at 
the key signature, think "G major" and try to relate everything in the 
tune to some elusive "tonic" G.

Nowadays, I think the key signatures are read not as combinations of 
alterations but of fixed code sets designating one of the standard keys, 
expressed as a combination of tonic plus "major/minor". So, go for D 
major key signature.

Best
Lukas

> "Norwegian Wood"
> (in E Mixolydian) has E major key signature and the characteristic
> Mixolydian seventh D is clearly marked by using a natural sign each time.
>
> At least, that's the way professional ("official") publications handle it.