The Old Songs

I recently heard an article from NPR’s Robert Krulwich on the significane of B flat. It got me thinking. Further research turned up another article, this time from BBC News, that corroborates the NPR story. Scientists are only now discovering the universal appeal of a frequency we take for granted.

Barbershoppers know: Give me a B flat and I can sing most songs. But why are “The Old Songs,” “My Wild Irish Rose,” “Let Me Call You Sweetheart,” or any of a hundred other songs not written in the key of C? After all, C is easier with no sharps or flats, and is only two semitones (half steps) higher than B flat.

When listening to a song in the key of C that my chorus recorded, I discovered that after sixteen measures, we had flatted one semitone to the key of B. Exactly sixteen measures later they had flatted one more semitone. After that second slip, they stayed on pitch in B flat for the rest of the song.

While flatting is not an acceptable practice, I found it interesting. Maybe they wanted to get back to their comfort zone to a key that feels “right” to them. Maybe we are familiar with what a B flat song sounds like in our heads. This is speculation, but I wonder.

Whatever the reason, scientists are letting us know what we barbershoppers around the world have already figured out: Just give me a B flat and I’m in tune with the universe!

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