Musical notation, like language, is a convention that enables understanding and communication. But marvelous as it is, it's still just a finger pointing at the moon - and it shouldn't be confused with a reality where its rules don't necessarily apply.

This is the most sensible thing I've heard all *day!

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...

Much deeper! I suppose should have put the words "for example" a little earlier in that paragraph. Your comments on resonance are exactly what timbre is *about! Wordwind makes it clear for strings and Faldage makes it clear for brass. The answer is: there is a reason why things are set into certain keys: because they sound better. The fundamentals and the harmonics are both more pronounced. A stringed instrument will resonate the fullest as certain keys provide the most direct (mathematical) relationship with the open strings. Whether or not a Tenor sax, a b flat instrument, would be considerably different if it was constructed to be a c "concert" instrument is not worth much argument, but "built into" its physics certain frequencies resonate better, and I would suspect those would *transpose as well.

I doubt if one would be able to make much sense anymore out of any historical description of what key is called what "emotion", as they probably were labled before "just" tuning, but each instrument will have more overall "pastoral" sounding collections of notes... that may just *suggest a key. The modes are a different story. I'd be guessing also, Faldage, but your descrition of F (lydian) and D sounds like Plato's (that's the guess) description of the modes... where F is pastoral and D (dorian minor, not major) is the mode they played for soldiers to prepare them for battle, as it had a focusing effect. Dorian sure can't be used to get anyone pumped up, unless you really don't like (for example) the pop singer Sade.

Fishy - "Alternate tunings" should be split into two concepts. Techniques like tuning your guitar's lowest string to a "D" so the first three strings produce a D - A - D (or *open fifth) structure is a technique employed by *rockers who need to spend more energy on tounge than finger extensions (and rightly so!) is what is generally called alternate tunings (ie. using the same notes just grouping them differently).

This is much different than Harry Partch

http://partch.edition.net/Bhpsv1n2.html

or other microtonal tunings that takes years of exposure to get be *functional, and even then only personally (but, then again, is there any other kind of *functionality?).

Music, by definition, is structural and repetitive. Vary too far and you risk getting *it called noise... but then again, that's not saying much for the "three B's" is it? It is the only way most relate to some music as being a "sad" song or a "happy" song (and I'm not talkin lyrics here) but these are environmental effects and repetitive contexts - not intrinsic qualities.... IMHO, of course.