G'Day[smile], I recently read or heard someone saying (can't remember exactly where I got it), that the root does indeed have influence on the mood or feeling of a piece. Is this true? Is it true that if I transpose a piece from F to e.g. B, the mood will change? If so, what áre the feelings a fundamental tone can give? -Stenny [BY THE WAY] If I'm using the term root incorrectly, please say so. I'm dutch and don't really know what the english variant of 'grondtoon' is.

Root deciding the mood of a piece?

First off, I'm not sure if you're referring to the root note of all of the chords in a song....which could be done by transposing the entire song, or if you're referring to chordal inversions. So I'll answer both: For the vast public...probably not. I would say it is more the 3rd harmonies that decided the overall mood. To say it more generally, the mood of a piece is determined by the overall harmonic structure of the piece:

mostly major harmonies: The piece may have a more hopeful, energetic, happy vibe.

mostly minor harmonies: The piece may have a more mournful, somber, tense vibe.

mostly dissonant harmonies: The piece may have a more tense, scary or disturbing vibe.

Notice I said the piece MAY have these vibes. There are other things to consider: rhythm, rate of chord changes and melody can also influence the vibe in a piece.

Back to your question: Changing the roots of chords may just mean changing the keys. I've heard some people say they hear A minor as being more sad than D minor. While they are certain timbre changes from key to key, I think it is a safe best that most of the public do not listen closely enough to be able to tell if a piece is in a different key.

Now if you mean using a different chord inversion, like instead of a G minor chord being spelled G-B flat-D, you put it in second inversion: B flat-D-G that will change the function of the chord and could also lessen or heighten the mood (i.e. make it seem less minor, or more dissonant).

I hope I'm not going off the deep end here...I rather enjoy music theory! Stenny, I recommend you try this out yourself. Play a chord progression using chords in root position, then try 1st inversion and 2nd inversion. Finally, go back and use smooth voice leading (a mixture of all chordal positions to make the bass line as connected as possible). See how each version changes.

The harmonies will have the most dramatic effect on the mood of the piece (nsmadsen gave a decent explanation).

It's up for debate whether or not the individual key centers will have an effect on the mood. If they do, I suspect it's possible that it's just for nostalgia's sake. For instance: say the listener has heard a song in Dminor that's really touched them; really struck an emotional chord in them. From then on out songs based around Dminor may have a more profound effect on them.

But ideally, the mood will be decided by the harmonies employed in the piece and various other factors. The choice of instruments can have different effects because of the difference in sound qualities. The phrasing of the melody, articulation of the notes, tempo of the whole piece, and rhythms will all have a profound effect.

Experimentation is really key here. Play around with different harmonies and take into account the different ways to sound them (via different instruments or ways to articulate a note on an instrument).

Of course we can always go by what Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap had to say about keys:

"It's part of a trilogy, a musical trilogy I'm working on in D minor which is the saddest of all keys, I find. People weep instantly when they hear it, and I don't know why."

What a great movie!! LOL

Quote: Original post by stenny
I recently read or heard someone saying (can't remember exactly where I got it), that the root does indeed have influence on the mood or feeling of a piece. Is this true? Is it true that if I transpose a piece from F to e.g. B, the mood will change?

Transposing a piece can definitely change the overall tone and color, but whether that leads to a different mood is a point for debate. The change comes less from harmonic considerations than from timbre. When a piece is transposed to a new key, it lies in a different range on the instruments on which it is played or in a signer's voice. This can cause the music to be described as sounding brighter or darker depending on the instrumentation and the way it's transposed.

A good understanding of how the timbral colors shift in different ranges on particular instruments is one of the keys to how good arrangers and orchestrators do their work. For example, you could write a melody in bottom octave of a violin's range, and it may have a tone that sounds rather dark or even harsh. However, the exact same melody played on a cello will sound more strident (some may say "brighter") because those same notes are much higher in the cello's range.

Likewise if you wrote a warm, lyrical melody in low register of a clarinet, and then transposed up a 6th, it would begin to lose some of its warm, rich character when played on the same clarinet. If you were to transpose it up an octave beyond that, it would begin to take on a whole new character. The tone would lose much of its perceived warmth and begin to gain more clarity and a brighter character.

Whether that leads to a change in mood may have a lot to do with what else is happening in the music.

Quote:
[BY THE WAY]
If I'm using the term root incorrectly, please say so. I'm dutch and don't really know what the english variant of 'grondtoon' is.

I think perhaps the word you are searching for is either "tonic" or "key". Not sure what the exact translation would be.

I think that might be the one yes. Thanks :)

I'll go and try something myself now :)

-Stenny