Chords and emotions

Jim Phelps · Post by **Jim Phelps** » 7 Apr 2003 1:29 pm

This has gotta be one of the darndest questions ever put on this Forum, but I'm SERIOUS.

Has anyone ever made a study (or got any interesting theories or guesses) why certain chords consistently have the same "emotional effect" on people? By that I mean, at least in most all types of music (except maybe Indian or Asian), everyone I've ever heard of experiences chords with the same kind of emotional connection: Minor chords sound dark, sad, mysterious. Diminished and augments sound tense, serious, leading to something. Major 7ths and 9ths sound "dreamy", ethereal, etc.

Is this because early composers commonly used these chords almost stereotypically to express these emotions, and in effect reinforced or even gave birth to these common emotional connections with these chords and have "taught" us to feel and believe minors are "sad", etc., or is there something built-in to the human psyche that reacts with chords, causing us to feel, imagine, or sense different emotional states connected with certain musical intervals? [This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 07 April 2003 at 02:47 PM.]

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 7 Apr 2003 1:41 pm

The basic emotional movement of chords in western (i.e European-based, tempered scale) music, is one of tension to resolution. So as you state, dominant-type chords... those with tri-tone intervals that include b7s, diminished, et. al.... and augmented chords, which seek resolution in some way to major-type chords, produce tension. Resolution chords are those which imply a sense of rest or finality in some way, like non-dominant chords (either major or minor), major 7ths, major 9ths, etc.

These are generalities, of course, but are basic truisms that I use to explain chord movement to my students. With the occasional exception, of course.

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Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 7 Apr 2003 1:55 pm

...and then there is the occasional chord inserted just for effect that floats just beyond the reach of gravity and all I can say is: "Where the hell do I go next?"

www.genejones.com

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 7 Apr 2003 2:03 pm

Reminds me of an old Far Side comic, showing a bar in the Old West. The guy in the black hat had just come through the swinging doors, and someone whispers to the piano player: "Bad guy. Minor key."

I think that the relationship between chords and emotions has been studied extensively by film score composers. Next time you cry at the movies, notice the music.

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Jim Phelps · Post by **Jim Phelps** » 7 Apr 2003 2:05 pm

Gene, you kill me!

Herb, your music theory definition is of course correct but I still have yet to see any music theory answer my basic question, "Why does everyone feel minors sound sad, majors sound happy, and major 7ths, 6ths and 9ths sound "dreamy"?

Probably someone will argue that... as a demonstration to them I would say play "Ain't no sunshine when she's gone" in A minor. Then play it in A major. Then A major 7th.

Right Bobby, sad music in minor keys....but how did it start? Why does it have that affect on people? [This message was edited by Jim Phelps on 07 April 2003 at 03:10 PM.]

Joey Ace · Post by **Joey Ace** » 7 Apr 2003 3:07 pm

Interesting subject.

Have we learned that Minors sound mysterous by life-long social conditioning or is it instinctive?

I can see that tension chords (aug, dim, etc)are based on natural laws. The same laws that create the 1,3, 5 harmony of a Major chord. Our ears want the "tension chord" to resolve.

I don't have the answer, but sure do like the question.

Here's an interesting link. http://www.voicesync.org/emochords.htm

Their free Chord Xplorer is a good ear training tool.

ebb · Post by **ebb** » 7 Apr 2003 3:20 pm

i think it has to do with alignment in the overtone series causing resonance

Michael Holland · Post by **Michael Holland** » 7 Apr 2003 3:39 pm

D minor ... which I always find is really the saddest of all keys.....

Nigel Tufnel

Donny Hinson · Post by **Donny Hinson** » 7 Apr 2003 4:35 pm

I think Bobby's right. Major chords are "happy" and restful, and minors are "serious" or sad. It probably relates to some primeval, or tribal instinct hidden deep within the psyche of homo sap that sees any dissonance as something "threatening".

I feel that major chords are more "civilized".

They sound best when in perfect tune. Minor chords, on the other hand, can be slightly out of tune and it actually adds to the "negative emotion" that the chords convey. I'm sure someone must have already done studies based on acoustic standing waves or harmonics, and their effects on human mental and physiological states, and therefore Ed's comment about the "intervals" and their relationships may also have merit.

ebb · Post by **ebb** » 7 Apr 2003 5:29 pm

adagio for strings - barber Db is sadder than D http://members.tripod.com/~Ebbisham/barber.html
[This message was edited by ebb on 07 April 2003 at 07:36 PM.]

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 8 Apr 2003 7:29 am

Man, we're getting deep now. There're probably some cultural anthropologists and psychologists who have studied this, and I'd love to hear about it if anyone knows anything written on this. At one time (when I should have been playing steel instead) I did formal and informal studies in anthropology, psych. and biology, and here's what I found.

As animals, the most prominent and distinctive trait of humans is our speaking. We do it constantly from birth to grave. We sit or stand around for hours on end, not moving, doing nothing but jabbering to each other. We sit for hours in front of TVs and movie screens watching people talk to each other. We talk to ourselves. We talk in our sleep. We are the talking animal. Writing, reading, and music are an extention of our vocal world. Our brains and ears are exquisitely atuned to speech sounds and dynamics, pitch, changes in pitch, overtones, and nuances of thought and emotion embedded in speech.

The voice was the first musical instrument, and all the others were invented to imitate it one way or another (and of course steel guitar does it best - hey, I ain't biased). All over the world, when people sing together they harmonize. There are some harmonies with fewer notes (like the blues scale) and some with more, but the Western 12-tone scale is a good intermediate scale that much of the world has ended up with. All the scales and harmonies have mathematical relationships that our ears recognize. The hair cells that are the nerve endings in our ears have lengths from short to long in a precise exponentially graduated pattern. They are built to sense the mathematical patterns in sounds.

Because our emotions are so strongly tied to what we hear in speech, they are strongly tied to music. Too me it sounds like babies and adults weep and moan with a minor scale sound. When people are yakking happily it has a major scale sound. Laughing has a major scale sound. Lovers cooing quietly have a major scale sound. People arguing and threatening have a stern minor scale sound. It's hard to tell what is culturally learned and conditioned in humans, but to me these things seem universal and hard wired, and I think this is where the musical emotions come from. By intentionally focusing the music on these natural propensities, composers and musicians evoke our emotions.

Why we are hard wired in this particular way, I don't know. Doves coo in a minor key and sound sad to us. Maybe they are wired differently and don't sound sad to each other. But when dogs wimper it sounds like a minor key, and when they bark because they are glad you are home, it sounds like a major key. So this must run deep in evolution. When cats meow it sounds...okay, this doesn't work for everything.

What's really interesting is that some music gets sad sounds from major chord progressions, like "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry." Hank's genius - what can you say. Black music has a genius for playing off the minor and major sound by throwing flatted 3rds, 5ths and 7ths in. Then there is the 6th chord, which is made by putting together a major chord and its relative minor to get that train whistle wail that can be a little sad and a little happy at the same time, like in "Time Changes Everything." The opposite also happens. Some Spanish Gypsy Flamenco pieces can make minor chords sound happy. This also happens in Eastern derived music - I'm thinking of Hava Nagila, and some Japanese folk tunes.

Well, that's my two cents - okay, maybe it was more like a nickel. I gotta get back to work now and stop wasting my dang time here. Knock off the interesting topics, guys.

CrowBear Schmitt · Post by **CrowBear Schmitt** » 8 Apr 2003 9:03 am

All things in Life come in pairs
it's the Yin + the Yang
Red Road or Blue Road ?
Play on Bro, Play on......

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 8 Apr 2003 9:08 am

David... very interesting and thought-provoking reply. I too was a cultural anthro major during my first college career.

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kyle reid · Post by **kyle reid** » 8 Apr 2003 9:25 am

I'd say that todays population of minors are musically in sad shape

Michael Haselman · Post by **Michael Haselman** » 8 Apr 2003 10:46 am

If there could be a "film noir" chord, it would be the min/maj7, i.e. "Harlem Nocturne." Also good with spy movie themes.

Herb Steiner · Post by **Herb Steiner** » 8 Apr 2003 12:46 pm

Michael
I'd also add the m6 chord to your list, e.g. "Caravan." Spooky sounding chord, fer sure.

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Greg Vincent · Post by **Greg Vincent** » 8 Apr 2003 2:39 pm

Michael / Herb,

Yeah "film noir" chords --I love 'em!

The score of "Vertigo" arpeggiates what I think is a min/maj7 all over the place!

Dig that Bernard Herrmann!

Great thread! I can understand why dissonances might make us uneasy, but an unaltered minor chord is not dissonant --why does it affect us so differently than a major chord???

-GV

Michael Haselman · Post by **Michael Haselman** » 9 Apr 2003 5:57 am

I guess you could call the melodic minor the "film noir scale."

Dave Van Allen · Post by **Dave Van Allen** » 9 Apr 2003 7:30 pm

and every tune referencing Indian (Native American) folks from Pow Wow the Indian Boy to Seminole Wind is in a minor key,,,wassup wit dat?

chas smith R.I.P. · Post by **chas smith R.I.P.** » 9 Apr 2003 9:27 pm

I'm inclined to think that it's a cultural thing since not all cultures use western tunings and thus western chords, especially before the mass media of the latter half of the 20th century, and yet I'm sure they experienced the same feelings. Evidently there was a time in medieval times when 2nds were thought to be consonant, 3rds were dissonances and tritones could get the composer stoned to death.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 10 Apr 2003 2:28 am

The other night at rehearsal I was playing in Eb..it was a very sad sounding song..at one point I could feel the tears swelling...

then I was advised that the rest of the band was in playing in E..

T

Gene Jones · Post by **Gene Jones** » 10 Apr 2003 3:48 am

Tony....me too!

Chip Fossa · Post by **Chip Fossa** » 10 Apr 2003 7:20 pm

And how do you figure, for instance, how the Japanese have embraced western music, and especially C&W. These folks hear music of a pentatonic scale. Think about it.

Not many of us can listen to Japanese music for a long time, without getting ill. Yet,
they readily embrace western music.

Gheez, is OUR music this powerful, and influential?

I don't have any steel friends, or just musician friends, yet, who play or seek out Asian pentatonic music.

Bobby Lee · Post by **Bobby Lee** » 12 Apr 2003 10:21 am

Conversely, listen to the complex scales in Arabian music. I can't handle it, but I recognize that there are things going on there that are beyond my own musical abilities.

Sometimes I hear a song, and I first become aware of it on the wrong beat. So, it takes a little while for brain to sort out where the "one" is for the measure, where the chorus starts, even what the key center is. The ability to understand the musical context of even a simple blues progression is learned through cultural conditioning.

Sometimes I wonder what our music sounds like to people who were raised with different rhythms, different song forms and 22-note scales. Can they make any sense of it at all?

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<img align=right src="http://b0b.com/b0b.gif" width="64" height="64">Bobby Lee - email: quasar@b0b.com - gigs - CDs
Sierra Session 12 (E9), Williams 400X (Emaj9, D6), Sierra Olympic 12 (C6add9), Sierra Laptop 8 (D13), Fender Stringmaster (E13, A6),
Roland Handsonic, Line 6 Variax

Frank Parish · Post by **Frank Parish** » 13 Apr 2003 5:39 pm

If minors are mysterious then what is the ultimate "Shuck and Jive" chord? How many chord changes for a "Shuck and Jive" tune, one?