Why would a piece start in G? Major then modulate to F??
I saw a question regarding F# vs. Gb in a given song. The song began in Gb Major then went to F# minor . . . and then it was question as to why the change. Why not just write the song in one Key?
I believe it has to do with the flattened 3rd in Gb caused a problem in the writing. One would have a doubled flat for the third in Gb minor, which is played as "A" on the keyboard. I believe it becomes cumbersome to interpret the notes in the key of Gb major . . . so there needed to be a change to F# minor to make the reading of the music easier.
I hope I made my point clear.
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TL;DR: It's just better to write since F♯-minor has a lot less signs to write than G♭-minor.
The original tonality you listed was G♭-major; it has six ♭s.
"Converting" major tonality to same-named minor one requires to flatten it triply:
add three ♭, or remove three ♯s.
(Of course, you should use circle of fifths; this is a sort of shortcut)
This means that G♭-minor will have nine ♭s (every note is ♭ except for B, E and A, which are ♭♭).
Same pitch and, of course, interval structure has an anharmonically equal F♯-minor.
Except for it has only three ♯s.
Much simpler to write, isn't it?
G-flat minor is, as you note, a terribly awkward key, since its relative major is B-double-flat. That is, the third scale degree is enharmonically equivalent to A, but it's actually B-double-flat. That has nine flats in its key signature (or, actually, five flats and two double flats). F-sharp minor has the rather more normal relative major of A major, with a three-sharp signature.
I don't know why the major part of the piece wasn't in F-sharp major, however, since that key has six sharps in its signature while G-flat major had six flats: these two keys are equally awkward.
Perhaps some consideration was given to transposing instruments. For a b-flat instrument, F-sharp major is notated as G-sharp major, with eight sharps (actually six sharps and one double sharp), but G-flat major is notated as A-flat major, with four flats.
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