Hi Gillian/Joy,
I wonder if a minor key feels the way it does because of overtones?...
Hi Allan, I know that our reaction to keys is believed to be cultural. In Western music -
films are a good example - minor keys are used for the sadder moments. As most cultures share the same acoustic characteristics of �happy speech� (
faster and louder) and �sad speech� (
slower and quieter), it is believed that music mimics some of these universal emotional behaviours.
For this reason a neuroscientist from Duke University (Durham, North Carolina) decided to investigate the sound spectra of speech for Western classical music and Finnish folk songs and found that major-key music was similar to excited speech, whilst minor-key music was more akin to subdued speech. However, some cultures (
Spanish and Slavic) use minor keys for happy music and there is evidence that the ancient Greeks did not link minor keys to sadness at all.
The world of
major versus
minor sounds is a fascinating one. It has been reported that nearly all train whistles are minor chords and that if you ever hear one as a major chord, it will really throw you! Exactly WHY sound affects us in this way is a real mystery. (JOY)