Estimated reading time 3 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Have you ever wondered, “Why do minor keys sound sad and major keys sound happy?” Has this phenomenon been hardwired into us, or does culture impact how we perceive scales? In fact, it’s a little bit of both. Read more to learn how this works.
This post uses some technical words. For descriptive links, see the Glossary below.
Melody Impacts Why Minor Keys Sound Sad
Why do minor keys sound sad? Because of the melodic relationships. If you play the white keys on the keyboard from C to C, it’ll have a bright or happy sound. Conversely, if you play from A to A, it’ll have a dark or sad sound.
This happens because the pattern of whole (w) and half (h) steps changes between the minor and major scales. The C major scale has a pattern of w, w, h, w, w, w, h. You can see this on the keyboard diagram below.
The white keys all have black keys in between them – except for E & F and B & C. E & F and B & C are the half steps from the previous pattern.
In contrast, the A minor scale has a pattern of w, h, w, w, h, w, w. Because our ears hear in relative rather than absolute terms, the pattern shift completely changes the sound. Listen to the soundtracks to hear the difference.
Minor Key:
Relative Major Key:
Mobile users: for best results reading the examples, tilt your screen 90o to the right.
Harmony Impacts Why Minor Keys Sound Sad
When you play notes together their harmonics interact. What are harmonics? Each note has a collection of pitches called harmonics that fuse together into one huge note called a complex tone. (See the chart below.)
When the critical bands between the harmonics in a chord overlap, it creates roughness. Suffice it to say that this creates the sense that some intervals and chords will be bright and others dark. You can hear this on the soundtracks below.
This partially explains why minor keys sound sad. For the rest of the explanation see the conclusion. For details on harmonics, fusion, critical bands, and the chart, read Harmony Is Tone Color.
I’ve provided the soundtracks to help illustrate the difference between minor and major sounds. However, the soundtracks have also been specially designed to help you sing in tune. If you’d like to see more Singing in Tune posts, click here for The Intonation Flight Simulator.
Minor Harmonies:
Relative Major Harmonies:
Concluding Thoughts on Why Minor Keys Sound Sad
We’ve talked about why minor and major keys sound dark and bright, but why do minor keys sound sad and major keys sound happy? Your culture attaches meaning to the keys.
Not all cultures hear minor and major keys as sad and happy. In India, they have major scales that they consider to be sad, while they think some of the minor scales sound happy.
Because you grew up in (or were influenced by) Western society, you’ve learned to interpret the bright sounding major scale as happy. Likewise, you’ve absorbed through movies, MP3s, and the internet that the dark sounding minor scale should be sad.
However, when listening to non-western music, it’ll be better to think of the scales in terms of bright and dark.
Therefore, the fact that minor keys sound dark to us has been hardwired into our bodies. However, the emotional interpretation of the dark sounding key as being sad comes from Western culture.
Related Content:
- How Does Your Brain Learn to Play the Piano with Two Hands?
- Ways Around the Difficulty of Playing the Piano Due to Short Fingers and Small Hands
- How to Overcome the Fear of Performing in Front of an Audience
- Why It’s So Hard for Someone with a Good Ear to Learn Sheet Music
- Do I Really Have to Learn Music Theory to Learn How to Play Piano?
- Why Do Pianists Occasionally Play Their Hands at Different Times as They Perform
- What Are the Small “>” Signs Above or Below the Notes?
- After They Can Sight-Read What’s Left for Musicians to Learn?
© 2023 Geoffrey Keith
Join me for in-person or online lessons today!
Back to the All-Purpose Music Tips and Topics category blogs page
Glossary
Noun Definition & Meaning (Video Noun Examples & Types of Nouns)
Are you foggy on how the parts of speech work? Do you need a noun definition with examples? To communicate clearly, writers, poets, songwriters, and well just about anybody will need to understand how they work. Keep reading “Noun Definition & Meaning (Video Noun Examples & Types of Nouns)” to learn more. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
Read More
![Requiem Meaning - Music, Memorial, and Mourning [Video] - Mozart Choral Music - Perfect Pitch: Discover the Truth [Plus Absolute Pitch Test] - Explore Mozart's Enchanting Music in Less Than Four Minutes - What Makes a Barbershop Quartet a Special A Cappella Group?](https://successmusicstudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Requiem-Meaning-Music-Memorial-and-Mourning-Video-Mozart-Choral-Music-300x198.jpg)
What Is the Meaning of the Death Requiem? [Video]
Do you want to understand the astonishing beauty and heartbreak of a requiem? Do you need to know which famous composers have written them? A requiem is a major musical art form and a solemn ceremony both at the same time. Famous composers such as Mozart, Verdi, and Berlioz have written them. Keep reading "What Is the Meaning of the Death Requiem?" to learn more. Estimated reading time 2 minutes.
Read More
Sight Singing with Rhythmic Syllables
Do you wish you could read rhythm better? “Sight Singing with Rhythmic Syllables” looks at rhythm. Also, we have sung so far in the keys of C, Db, D, Eb, E, F, Gb, and G major. In today’s singing lesson you will learn the keys of Ab, A, Bb, and B. Once again, the more keys you know, the better your reading will become. Estimated reading time 4 minutes.
Read More
How to Tune Like a Rock Star
How you tune affects how you sound. We look at how Keith Richards tunes his special open G tuning. The post includes video interviews with Keith Richards. Learn how to tune like a rock star! Estimated reading time 3 minutes.
Read More