Comfortable vs uncomfortable keys

[cloches_de_geneve]

Are there (technically) easier and harder keys? Does it sometimes happen to you that, when confronted with a new piece you like to learn, you see the key and go: "Jeez, why did the composer put this lovely piece in x-major or y-minor? Such an unpianistic key!!" Or, alternatively: "Oh great, I love x-major or y-minor!"

To give a few examples: I like E major, B major, Dflat major, Aflat major. To me, these are pianistic, comfortable, "forgiving" keys.

I don't like: Bflat major, Eflat major, D-major or A-major.

Any thoughts on this?

[nicco]

No offence but this must be the stupidest thing i have ever heard.

[molto-marcato]

When it comes to scales there are a few which are more comfortable to a beginner than others. Chopin for example suggested to begin studying scales with b-major, because this way you'll have 1 on e , 2 f#, 3 g#, 4 a# and 5 on b which is a little more "natural" than c-major.

Besides that i do not prefer a key more than another in technical terms. It is only the sound that matters. I would prefer g-flat major over c-major but again this totally depends on the piece.

[pianowelsh]

No - not stupid atall! Have you ever tried playing the black key etude of Chopin. That feels incredibly uncomfortable and like walking a tightrope until you have really mastered it.  I think partially it depends on your finger shape and hand shape. People with fat fingers tend not to like the more densely black scales because of the having to keep the hand right into the base of the black keys and fngers getting caught on them.  I personally dont have any real problem because my fingers are fairly thin and I have I suppose about average sized hands for my height. An interesting question though - im sure there are those on this forum (53,000) that have difficulties in certain passages and keys because of their hands shape and size.  Im not sure if the word unpianistic is technically correct though as all keys on the 'piano' are by virtue pianistic..the arrangement of them in passagio isnt necessarily so though.

[lichristine]

i like the strange sounding ones best.
D# minor is my current favorite.

[pianowelsh]

Scriabin op8/12???

[lichristine]

yes!!!
it's love...

[nicco]

No - not stupid atall! Have you ever tried playing the black key etude of Chopin.

Indeed i have. It fits very well to the hand, and it probably would also if it was in e major or any other key. Its just a matter of getting used to it and finding good fingering.

[ted]

If you attempted to play all keyboard patterns (keys, scales, chords, anything) exactly the same way then of course some would be harder than others. However, this is not what happens in practice. In practice, fingering, finger and hand position and accommodating movements are all adjusted to keyboard geography. Over time the whole process becomes a habit and no perceptible variation in difficulty exists.

[burstroman]

I've read somewhere that the Schumann "Toccata" was originally conceived in the key of E-flat major, which the writer said might have made it almost impossible in some passages.   

[cloches_de_geneve]

There is also a G-major version of Schubert's famous Impromptu in G flat-major (op. 90/3) that has been apparently created for the less advanced pianist. Several reactions to my post here seem to indicate that the probability of encountering certain uncomfortable figurations is enhanced or diminished depending on the key. For the accomplished concert pianist, however, this may not matter very much.

I am still curious to hear about your key preferences.

[teresa_b]

I have two criteria for key preference--ease of reading (C Major, G Major, F Major, A minor) and ease of playing (A-flat Major, D-flat Major being two of them)

It's easier in some cases to get started or to sight-read in the keys with few # or flats, needless to say.  But once you get past the initial stage, I find the keys with 4 or 5 flats to be least awkward on the hands.  Keys I hate?  Ones with lots of # and double # because reading them is a bear, and playing them not so easy, either. 

I do not like E-flat so well because I find myself always wanting to add a d-flat! 

All the best,
Teresa

[rhapsody in orange]

How about passages where you have double octaves? I would find those written in C annoying since all of them are white keys and it's easier to hit wrong notes that way. When there are black keys around there are at least some 'reference points' or something...

[lostinidlewonder]

To give a few examples: I like E major, B major, Dflat major, Aflat major. To me, these are pianistic, comfortable, "forgiving" keys.

I don't like: Bflat major, Eflat major, D-major or A-major.

Any thoughts on this?

Chopin mentioned that the Black keys act as springs to the fingers. It is why you find these scales mentioned above comfortable on the hand and why C major might feel very strange. If you notice the natural hand form Chopin considered i.e: FGbAbBbC RH and EGbAbBbC LH, this is considered the most comfortable position for the hand since all the middle fingers are on black notes which offer great support/balance to the hand.

[kriskicksass]

If you notice the natural hand form Chopin considered i.e: FGbAbBbC RH and EGbAbBbC LH, this is considered the most comfortable position for the hand since all the middle fingers are on black notes which offer great support/balance to the hand.

Actually, you've got those flipped. Chopin liked the gap between E and F# in the right hand, as it landed between the thumb and the first finger, accommodating the natural gap between those two fingers. The way you've got it has the gap between the pinky and the forth finger, which makes the gap very uncomfortable and unnecessary.

As for me and keys, I agree with molto-marcato. There are keys that are easier to read and those that are more comfortable to play. For the longest time I hated reading in flats, so I only liked the sharp keys. Now I find it easier to read in flats than sharps, but I don't really care and have no key preferences. I've come to find that it's really the composer's style that affects the comfort of a passage and not the key it's in. (Chopin writing in C Major is infinitely more comfortable than Beethoven writing in F minor, for example.)

Then again, I always love black keys to hold on to, and I think most posters here would agree.