So, we usually don't do react videos, but today I want to talk about a very interesting video
by Victor Wooten called: Music theory is Simple! "...okay, how many keys are there?
I say it's 12. Good answer, but wrong. How many how many keys you're about to say? 12 right?
that was my answer. Who's going keep your hand up, if you have an answer different from 12.
What's the answer? 24 is logical, more logical than 12, because there's majors and minors,
so we would double. It makes sense, right? still wrong. okay don't guess, tell me if you know.
One... one. One is not a good answer, but now we're trying to be clever. what's the answer?
30 is the answer." So that's pretty interesting already. 30 keys and he's right!
Isn't he? This is the way he arrives at this number: Let's say you pick up at random a piece of music.
The piece could be in a major key or a minor key. There's also a key signature in the piece, and
it could have no sharps or flats. Or, any number of flats from one to seven. Or, any number of sharps
from one to seven. So there are 15 different key signatures, times two (because it could be major
or minor.) That gives us 30 possible keys. And that's the right answer. And yes, I understand that there
are some enharmonic redundancies with this method. Like how Gb and F# are the same key. But
there's still a chance of you drawing either of those keys when picking a piece at random.
And while playing in Gb versus playing an F# just might be a matter of perspective,
as you'll see later on, perspective can be everything.... "If you're new to mDecks Music,
we create music books and apps, piano arrangements, and we discuss: improvisation, songwriting
and sometimes, we take music theory to strange and uncharted places. So subscribe and hit the bell,
and join us for Exclusive Access to our ever expanding library of music resources." Alright. So
far so good, but then he says this: "...most of us don't realize that we only have major and minor keys.
Is it? Dorian is not a key, it's a mode. (True) Right? Harmonic minor is a scale not a key..." Well hold on
just a second there. So let's say I pick up So What by Miles Davis, and I want to practice it
in all keys. But which key is So What in? There are no sharps or flats in the key signature. So
it should be in C major or A minor it's relative minor. Correct? Not exactly. The key signature in
So What is the one for C major (or A minor) but So What is not in any of those keys! So What is
in D Dorian (and then modulates to Eb dorian) later on. So, if we thought So What was in the key of C
major or A minor, we'd be missing the point. This Dm7 is not a ii minor in the key of C. it's a I
Dorian! The entire tension release contour is completely different. If we practice thinking
of C as our tonic target, we're not going to sound in the spirit of this song; since the melodic and
harmonic rules are completely different. A great example of what I'm talking about is in the album
Kind of Blue, which by the way features So What. In the album you can hear how Bill Evans
and Miles Davis were already playing modal, while Cannonball Adderley was still playing bebop lines.
The mood and colors in a modal tune are completely different, and require a completely different
approach. And the same goes for many other pieces , including pieces in harmonic minor which, by the
way, there are tons of. So the 30 keys assessment is technically correct, for songs that are tonal.
But if the spirit of using this perspective is to make sure we practice in all keys - in order
to get better at music - then not only is 30 keys not even close to the real amount of possible
keys, it might not even be the most practical approach. If we say D Dorian is not a key, or
C harmonic minor is not a key, then we would only be practicing and learning how to play
tonal pieces. And we would have a sort of blind spot towards certain real world applications.
When you think about how massive the world of music can be, and how finite our time is,
prioritizing what should be learned now versus the more esoteric stuff that you might come across
later, is imperative. In other words: Is E# a thing? Yes! Is it more common or practical than D
Dorian? No! So whether it's a key or not, practice D Dorian. E# major can wait!
Having said all that, I think Victor Wooten's video is great! We love different perspectives like this -
especially when it comes to music theory - because the more perspectives we have on a given topic,
the more rounded our knowledge becomes. Thanks again for watching. Definitely check out Victor
Wooten's original video on the topic. We'll put a link in the description down below. Thank you.