People tend to assume that major chords sound happier while minor chords are sadder, but this doesn’t have to be the case; much depends on a variety of factors.
Understanding how major and minor chords can produce sad tones is vital for musicians seeking to add emotional impact in their music. In this article we will look at key factors which contribute to making a chord progression sound sad.
The root note
Chord progressions convey immense emotion and can make or break a song. Songwriters can use chord progressions to elicit specific feelings such as sadness, longing, nostalgia or longing through choice of voicings, dynamics and even key (or scale).
Music theory is founded upon keys and families of notes. Major scales create major chords while minor scales generate minor ones.
Music is highly personal; different people perceive chords and keys differently. Some cultures hear major scales as sounding bright while minor scales as sad-sounding; tempo, melody, and lyrics also play an integral part.
The tone
Some may associate major chords with happy emotions while minor chords with sad emotions; however, this doesn’t have to be the case; the way chord progressions sound depends on their harmonies and tonality.
Actually, many beautiful songs have been composed with only four chords progressions in mind, yet all remain moving and captivating. Of course, other aspects such as tempo, melodies, lyrics and instrumentation also need to be considered when writing music using this form.
But, if you want your music to sound more melancholy, pairing major chords with minor or diminished chords may cause listeners to experience emotional responses in response to your music. Studies indicate this combination can trigger different responses; pairing an A minor chord with B diminshed can evoke hopelessness while pairing A major chords with D minor chords may produce feelings of longing and nostalgia in listeners. It’s essential that you experiment until finding what suits your music best!
The intervals
Though western music culture has taught us that major chords can create feelings of happiness while minor chords elicit sadness, this doesn’t always hold true. Tempo, timbre, rhythm and melody have an even stronger influence over emotion in song than just choosing major or minor chords.
Intervals, the distance between two notes, can be classified as either augmented, minor, or diminished depending on their proximity or distance from the tonic note. A perfect fourth is an example of an augmented interval; conversely a perfect fifth would be considered diminished.
Tritone (also referred to as a “sus4″) intervals are six half steps away from the Tonic and may sound unattractive, but when used appropriately they can add an incredible beauty and depth to your progressions – an example is John Denver’s song, ‘Take Me Home Country Roads”. By including tritone intervals into chord progressions and chord arrangements you have more opportunities for creating emotional yet melancholic songs!
The harmony
Music has long been considered a global language, and chords are one of the key elements in creating emotionally stirring songs. Chords consist of several notes played together – usually thirds stacked one atop another – with any length ranging from three to seven or more notes in any chord.
No matter whether you play major or minor chords, their emotional effect will depend on how they’re combined together and written into songs. For instance, adding a descending chromatic line can intensify an already sad song even further.
Composition complexity is also a contributing factor that makes songs sound sad. By keeping chord progressions straightforward and evoking honest emotional reactions from listeners, simplicity helps elicit more genuine responses – especially important if conveying sadness or sorrowful sentiments through song. But keep in mind that adding complex chords or effects may heighten an emotive response further!