As part of your elementary music studies, you may have learned that major chords connote happiness while minor chords evoke sadness. Although this statement may be true emotionally, this doesn’t capture all aspects of musical composition.
Musical theory is all about patterns and rules. So let’s delve further into why major chords sound cheerful while minor chords appear melancholic.
Intervals
Chords we play are constructed out of intervals, or gaps between notes. A perfect interval (also called a pure interval) spans exactly two semitones for a consonant sound with no tension; on the other hand, augmented intervals widen by one semitone wider. C-E intervals represent major thirds while C-F# are diminished fourths.
Major intervals produce a sweeter sound than minor ones, yet don’t have the same uplifting quality that perfect intervals possess.
Addition of either a seventh or ninth interval to a major triad creates a dominant chord; the ninth in particular tends to bring forth bright and happy feelings, while the seventh often brings on dark or melancholy emotions. You might also come across jazz music chords such as Cadd9 or CM7 with both major 7 and minor 9 intervals present.
Brightness
Do not limit yourself to just basic major and minor chords – adding extensions (extra notes) like adding a 9th chord will create dark and mysterious sounds.
Interval sizes also determine how brightly a chord sounds; wider intervals are perceived to be brighter than smaller ones, so major chords with major thirds sound brighter than minor chords with minor thirds.
Mood can play an influential part in how chords sound, particularly with regards to dissonance and harmonic tension. For instance, playing a minor chord slowly will have more of an emotive tone, while fast strumming may give off more tension or an almost sinister vibe.
Combine harmony with dissonance to produce a sense of tension or conflict in the listener – this may be good or bad depending on what mood is desired – it is therefore crucial that players strike an ideal balance between harmony and dissonance when creating music.
Dissonance
Dissonant major chords can add tension to a song. This is particularly effective when combined with lyrics that express uncertainty or sadness; such combinations often induce feelings of depression or despair in listeners.
Dissonance refers to any amount of discordant sounds between two musical intervals with harmonic timbres (multiple notes being played simultaneously). Dissonance peaks when two notes’ fundamental frequencies overlap closely while it fades away when their fundamental frequency ratios differ significantly from each other.
Dissonance depends heavily on its timbre, and can differ widely across genres of music. Yet empirical studies show that overall psychoacoustic rank orders of intervals based on fundamental frequencies tend to be fairly consistent – for instance, intervals with large integer f0 ratios tend to be perceived as less dissonant than smaller-integer ones (Kameoka and Kuriyagawa 1969b). Furthermore, harmonic complex structures play a critical role in our perception of dissonance.
Mood
A chord can be altered in many ways to alter its character and emotional impact, for instance by adding sixths or minor sevenths – this creates dissonance that changes its tone, which can be used for dramatic effect or tension building purposes.
A chord’s sound can depend on many different variables, yet its ability to evoke specific feelings has long fascinated musicians and even physicists alike. From simple major chords to those featuring complex structures, hearing them play can evoke specific responses, showing just how effective music can be as an universal language.
Understanding major chords sound is vitally important to any musician or composer looking to write music that connects with listeners. Learning different voicings and combinations of notes allows musicians to craft tunes that elicit emotions ranging from happy to sad in listeners’ responses.