Why have we always associated minor
chords with a sense of sorrow?
Why do minor chords
sound sad? Several
music theorists do not
regard the minor chord
as a harmonic interval of its own; instead,
they see it as a ‘suppressed’ or clouded
major chord, since the
third in the chord is
simply lower than in
the major chord. If we
apply this thought to
the Theory of Musical
Equilibration,
that
means a suppressed
version of the major
chord leads to a ‘clouded’ feeling of being content with the present
moment. Contentment
turns into discontentment, a sense of ‘no
more’. The minor chord
thus seems sad when
played quietly and full
of anger when played
loudly. If a minor chord
is first repeated quietly
and then at increasing speed and volume,
you can experience a
remarkable transfor-
mation from hearing an
expression of sorrow to
an expression of anger.
Minor chord
Play this chord several times, first
quietly and then at increasing volume
and speed. You will notice the striking shift from a sense of sorrow to a
sense of fury.
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