> C major is identical to A minor, and I don’t understand why we need both.
Well, an orange and a carrot are the same color, but does that mean we don't need both? These two keys have the same signature, and that's it. To say they are identical is false.
> I don’t know anything about music.
You got that right.
> I suppose it’s possible to change the sound of an entire piece of music just by changing the key signature, but does anyone actually do that?
Only about every major composer who has ever lived. Look through any Beethoven sonata and see all the key signature changes throughout.
Your article didn't even hit one of the most important parts of music, modulation, which if you understood it would make many of your other confusions go away.
This is gratuitous negativity. It adds nothing to your post except to emphasize disdain for the author. It's especially uncivil in response to the author's own statement of humility.
This post would be better (and much more constructive) if you explained (or linked to an explanation of) how C major and A minor are different, or how the concept of modulation dispels the author's confusions.
I disagree. The article is not of high quality, and I am compelled to point that out. It is one thing to admit not knowing anything about a subject, it is something else entirely to suggest that the way things are in that subject don't make any sense. That is arrogance hiding behind a pretence of ignorance.
If the author truly wanted to explore this subject, rather than suggest the key of A minor is superfluous and redundant, he would make an attempt to answer, not ask, that question. Western music theory has not existed for centuries without reason, and some of the attitude in this post suggests the author has superficial appreciation for how music works, as if the author could do it better. There are many more examples of this in the article.
I found the article questionable in its intent and content, and the general tone throughout is worthy of my response.
Well, an orange and a carrot are the same color, but does that mean we don't need both? These two keys have the same signature, and that's it. To say they are identical is false.
> I don’t know anything about music.
You got that right.
> I suppose it’s possible to change the sound of an entire piece of music just by changing the key signature, but does anyone actually do that?
Only about every major composer who has ever lived. Look through any Beethoven sonata and see all the key signature changes throughout.
Your article didn't even hit one of the most important parts of music, modulation, which if you understood it would make many of your other confusions go away.