Natural minor is the
perfect match for
high tension
rock and pop music (Deep Purple,
Santana). In commercial esoteric
music for meditation, this chord is
played at low volume to express
a sense of letting yourself go and
embarking on a meditative adventure. The courage-inspiring effect
of the chords is intended to evoke
responsiveness to our feelings and
new spiritual experiences.
Minor chords can evoke emotions
other than sorrow and anger. The
music from the movie Pirates of the
Caribbean is a well-known example: the theme is played in minor,
or more specifically in what is called
natural minor. This harmonic mode
sounds adventurous and courageous. Children who were asked
their impressions of this chord used
words such as ‘excitement’, ‘Wild
West’ and ‘thriller’. The terms they
used kept revolving around the
ideas of adventure, courage and
danger.
Natural minor
Play the highlighted notes in whatever
sequence you like. When you play them
quietly, they will remind you of a meditative adventure, whereas when they
are played loudly, they can be used to
accentuate an exciting thriller.
Nearly every TV thriller uses the
impact of the minor chord to general tension in the theme music and
in exciting scenes. Beyond that, this
harmonic device is what shapes the
downright bold-sounding character of natural minor when used in
48