In the Key of G

Recently, I read an article about music and synesthesia. How some well-known composers associated different musical keys with colors. Rimsky-Korsakov and Scriabin wrote that certain keys reminded them of specific colors. For the record, the same keys reminded them of different colors. Sergei Rachmaninov also linked musical keys to colors. I always thought of Rachmaninov as a cross between a vampire and Lurch from the Adams Family. He was tall (6’ 6”) and in the Debbie downer camp. Friends and colleagues made no pretense about saying how he cast a perma-gloom where ever he went.

Droopy dog aside, Rachmaninov's music is complex, richly textured, and uber-romantic. His piano concerti were also nigh impossible to play when premiered. Case in point, the 1996 movie Shine and the dreaded "Rach 3." One of the reasons the works are so difficult is because the range of notes and required reach in each hand is extreme. No surprise as Sergei had gigantic hands. Lurch had big hands too.

Associating colors with different keys in music can be a form of synesthesia. Given the creative genius of Rachmaninov and the other two composers listed above, it's possible that synesthesia could have been involved. However, for it to truly be synesthesia, the cross talk between auditory and internal visual would have to be involuntary and constant, and not just in a certain context. It's also not the same, by the way, as hearing Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring and thinking about cartoon dinosaurs. Or hearing Rossini’s Barber of Seville overture and suddenly getting an urge for a shave and a haircut.

Different musical keys also remind me of colors. A-major sounds like red. Not fire engine red, but the burnished red of autumn leaves. Likewise, D-major reminds me of gold, and C-major of deep royal blue. I've never given the minor keys enough thought in regards to colors. But there’s one other key that always makes me think of a specific hue. And that's the key of G-major, the subject of this post. It's appropriate given that it’s spring now, because the key of G has always reminded me of the color spring green—the color of the first shoots and leaves of the new season (see image above).

Spring green is like an unfettered, greener version of the color Chartreuse. The latter also being a world-famous liqueur that comes in yellow and green label versions. The yellow label is 86-proof with the green label weighing in at a whopping 110-proof. Keeping in mind that pure alcohol is 200-proof, you can see that green label Chartreuse is strong water and not to be taken lightly, literally. Both versions have been produced by Carthusian monks in France since the early 17th century. Some in the Master Sommelier tribe are huge devotees and collectors of green Chartreuse. Me, not so much. Regardless, there’s a world shortage of Chartreuse in the last few years because of post-COVID supply and production-related issues. C’est la vie.

Back to G-major. Not only does it remind me of the color spring green, it also feels like a happy key, even uplifting. Not convinced? Here, in no particular order, is a list of popular songs, all written in the key of G.

·      Take It Easy – The Eagles

·      Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd (the version by the Leningrad Cowboys is even better)

·      More Than a Feeling – Boston

·      Heart of Gold – Neil Young – cue the cilantro (inside joke)

·      All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey (sorry, ear worm)

·      Who'll Stop the Rain – Creedence Clearwater Revival

·      Ziggy Stardust – David Bowie

·      Band on the Run – Wings

·      Man on the Moon – R.E.M.

·      Uncle John's Band – Grateful Dead

·      Lights – Journey

A couple of thoughts: First, there's serious air guitar material here. Second, even though you can find some depressing songs written in G if you look hard enough, none of the above really goes to the dark side. So maybe there is something to the magic of G-major. Otherwise, if hearing a bunch of songs in the same key wouldn't drive you to the toolies, the sum total of the above would make a good playlist. And once you made it through that, you might even dip your tosies into the serene pool of classical works written in the key of G. Here are a few to check out:

·      Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 17, K. 453: For me, this is the essence of spring in music. Also check out the String Quartet No. 14, K. 387: appropriately titled “Spring.”

·      Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 20, Op. 49 No. 2: For Beethoven, this is happy music. Not a small thing given he was prone to head-banging moments in many of his works in the form of wildly changing dynamics.

·      Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 1, Op. 78

·      Schuman: Symphony No. 1, Op. 38: called "Spring."

·      Dvorak: Symphony No. 8, Op. 88: I was listening to it in the car a few days ago and it prompted this missive.

·      Vivaldi: Concerto alla Rustica, RV 151: This is seriously happy, bouncy, and almost frisky G-major music. Imagine a spring morning after a quad espresso.

·      Bach: Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, BWV 1048: Is there a better piece of spring music? I doubt it. There's also the Partita No. 1, BWV 825, and, you knew this was coming, the Air on a G String from the Orchestral Suite No. 3, BWV 1068.

In the end, celebrate spring by playing some tunes in the key of G. You'll be glad you did.