Ispectrum Magazine Ispectrum Magazine #10 | Seite 48

Major chords can sound
just as sad as minor chords

If the chords below are repeated
several times, the listener begins
to anticipate the minor chord as
the major chord is still sounding,
resulting in the major chord taking
on the character of a minor chord.
It then seems just as sad as a
minor chord.

Musicology has not yet managed
to find an explanation as to why
minor chords feel sad, and consequently it was truly overwhelmed
when it came to analyzing why
major chords can also sound mournful. Major chords can seem sad if a
sorrowful-sounding minor chord is
used as their dominant.

Dominant

Minor chord

Alternate between quietly playing the chord on the left and the chord on the right several
times. As you do so, pay attention to the effect of the major chord on the right. You will
notice that after a short while, this chord sounds just as sad as the minor chord on the
left, despite the fact that it is a major chord. Here the major chord assumes the character
of a minor chord.
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