In reply to:
The fifth of the fifth isn't where the problem is noticed.
I used this just as a starting point; to show that it was the adding up of continued "pure" intervals, that ended up causing the trouble. you finished my thought. thank you.
In reply to:
We got a lot of compromises along the way that left us with the idea that different keys have different characters.
I always thought that it was the other way around. the Greeks knew that each tonal center(key) had a different sense to it. Db sounded different than C because it was different. the frequency variations would cause a different resonance with the listener and the space around them. this is still true today, though since we have forced the keys to behave, the resonances don't ring true anymore. frankly, I think we lost a major part of what music could do to people. it is a testament to the power of vibration that music still moves people today.
musick: your idea of timbre is a good one, but I think it goes deeper than just two or three strings. think about the different instruments/voices that are used...
so Onabi, I think it is crucial to pick the right key for each song, not only for the instruments and voices that are to play it, but for the deeper resonances of nature that reside in each key.
