There are two principle chords in music. Major and Minor. Major chords are traditionally associated with happiness, joy and have a bright optimistic tonality about them. Minor chords on the other hand have a darker feel, conveying a sense of sadness, grief, tragedy or other manifestations of sombriety.
The question is, what is it exactly within these chords that is responsible for such a dichotomy of emotions? What makes 'sad' music so sad?
As a musician, I know that the crucial element that determines the 'gender' (Major/Minor) of each chord is it's third note. Placed in a certain position you may have a major chord. Move it a semi-tone down in pitch and suddenly you now have a minor chord. Yet this still doesn't explain why each chord feels so different.
Is it entirely memetic? Does our recognition of a minor chord as a 'sad chord' come about because of it's prior usage? If so, can a person be trained to hear a minor chord as a 'happy chord', (etc ....and a major chord as a sombre chord).
As members of society, we are bombarded with the memes of music just as much as we are with language. What would it be like to hear any of these chords without any such prior memetic interference?
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