Season 329 - Nothing Major.

I have a question for the group about the minor chords and music theory and cognitive science. Songs in the minor chords evoke more emotion - they make us feel melancholy, sad, emotional.

Why is that?

How can the particular frequencies of some vibrations of particles moving through the air create predictable emotional reactions in the brain? I mean, if it's about a person remembering feelings they had in the past while listening to a song, that's understandable, but songs in the minor chords are different than that. I would argue that they create these feelings regardless of whether one has heard them before or not. Maybe it's a cultural thing. Maybe we've come to associate these songs with sadness and that's what does it.

You can control the reactions of lots of animals by applying certain stimuli. Wave a toy in front of a cat and it will become playful. Are we controlled instinctually in the same way? Play something in the key of Em and we get the blues?

Here is an article I found...
 
Always like to get a song in on a Sunday morning although in hindsight I should have multitracked this with strumming and picking in the verses. Tried to a bit of chord melody at first but it didn't sound right so I just stuck with picking.


Re: the start. On my first take I tried to falsetto in one of the choruses, it's quite a long bit that I tried in one breath and as a result got nowhere near the high note, as a result I binned the attempt and my wife let out the laugh she'd been holding in that whole chorus. She then dutifully retreated upstairs so I could get the thing over and done with.

It's by Ben Howard and I'm playing it in Dm


 
I have a question for the group about the minor chords and music theory and cognitive science. Songs in the minor chords evoke more emotion - they make us feel melancholy, sad, emotional.

Why is that?

How can the particular frequencies of some vibrations of particles moving through the air create predictable emotional reactions in the brain? I mean, if it's about a person remembering feelings they had in the past while listening to a song, that's understandable, but songs in the minor chords are different than that. I would argue that they create these feelings regardless of whether one has heard them before or not. Maybe it's a cultural thing. Maybe we've come to associate these songs with sadness and that's what does it.

You can control the reactions of lots of animals by applying certain stimuli. Wave a toy in front of a cat and it will become playful. Are we controlled instinctually in the same way? Play something in the key of Em and we get the blues?

I am hoping this thoughtful post by Joko gets some attention and maybe conversation. (Thanks BDU).
I will say that Jon's brill song in Em is bright and upbeat to my ear.
 
The article about the science of music essentially confirmed what I was posing: the association of minor chords with sad feelings is culturally created. The tones don't have any neurochemical physiological effect in and of themselves without the combination of an imprinted association with what we, as a musical culture, have created.

To test this theory, I suppose you'd have to go the heart of Tibet, or rarely-contacted villages in New Guineau or the deepest part of the Amazon.... because everywhere else on the planet has been influenced by global music definitions. Here in Myanmar, you'd think it would be a good place to check this theory, but even here, when a composer wants to create a certain feeling, they write music in minor chords.
 
So Tootler mentioned its the 'last' chord that determines the key...F C G Am chord progression...is that Am then? I know nothing about any of this...
 
So Tootler mentioned its the 'last' chord that determines the key...F C G Am chord progression...is that Am then? I know nothing about any of this...

100% that's Am. Play through a song in it, you're always going to want to finish on Am.
 
Season 329. Submission 1. "Cowgirl In The Sand" (A Collaboration - Elisa and Turtledrum) Written and recorded by Neil Young, 1969.


One of the projects I gave myself for this summer was to record a song with two tenor guitar tracks, one in the traditional tuning and one with the Irish tuning. Yesterday I started working and before I'd finished, your theme was posted. I was in luck in regard to its fitting the theme! I asked Elisa if she'd like to sing with me and by this morning, her track was sent. I hope this can fit the bill with the Thornton rule in re: to the tenor guitar tracks.

vocal, audio mix - Elisa

vocal, tenor guitar tracks, vid - turtledrum


Thank you for hosting, Pa, and this great theme! :)


 
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So Tootler mentioned its the 'last' chord that determines the key...F C G Am chord progression...is that Am then? I know nothing about any of this...

A song will always end on its tonic note. ('doh' if you like) If the song is in a minor key, the chord on that note will be a minor chord.

Here is a relatively straightforward article about minor keys and scales.

https://www.earmaster.com/music-theory-online/ch04/chapter-4-4.html

There's an interesting bit at the bottom about 'Jazz and Dorian Minor'. The Dorian mode is also common in folk song. In fact most 'minor key' folk songs are actually in the Dorian mode but they still have that minor feel. They are definitely minor key songs but the scale they are based on is different from the 'standard' minor key songs.
 
A song will always end on its tonic note. ('doh' if you like) If the song is in a minor key, the chord on that note will be a minor chord. .

To go against but at the same time illustrate the point, here's this. Bum notes in the solo notwithstanding, the song is clearly in Am. But on the record and when I play it, it ends on E and that irregularity is part of the appeal for me. Even then, going from that E back to Am just feels right.



It's also a minor key song with sad lyrics but somehow feels jaunty.
 
I would have bet a lot of money that we would hear the "mode" word this week.
I would also have bet that it would be either tootler or redpaul who brought it.
Just saying.
Also songs do not always end on the tonic note and I believe you could be a very successful musician and never have heard of '"modes".
I would so much rather have heard a song in a minor key before I got the "mode" talk.
 
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Was hoping to jump in on this, as it'd give me a chance to dust of some songs I've been wanting to do... but I won't lie... feeling REALLY unwelcome right about now...
 
What do you get when you drop a piano down a mine shaft?? A flat Minor! Lighten up and have fun folks!
 
Good timing on this theme pa cause I kinda worked this song up awhile back, but I was literally just thinking about playing it yesterday, so perfect time to try it. I love this song a lot, pun intended, but it's not easy at all to execute.

 
I mean, I'm a numbers guy, by nature, so theory absolutely fascinates me, so on my own entries (depending on the song) I may touch on a point or two of what about the song interests me. (Like, a sentence or two.) But on the flip side, I'm not coming in here to analyze or pick apart other peoples entries. And I feel like that's fitting with the whole spirit of the Seasons.

((Only not posting a song now because I'm halfway into working on the first thing that came into my head, before realizing it's lyrically inappropriate. Like... HIGHLY inappropriate. XP. So, back to the idea board.)) s
 
Great theme!

One of those curiosities of the English language - when I read it, I assumed pabrizzer referred to people who are pedantic about music theory - not calling all people who like music theory pedants. I.e. I quite like getting spelling and grammar right, but I can do so without being a grammar pedant :)

Anyway I'm very glad about the openness of the theme because I have no idea about music theory. I read the start of the thread, recorded a song thinking it was in Em, read the rest of the thread, started to think it definitely wasn't in Em... now I'm not sure again and think it maybe is...or not...?? The more I read about it the more confused I get =S (Bear of very little brain)

If this is not in a minor key feel free to disregard / not add to the playlist and I'll try again!

Anyway it's a song about my mum's childhood, called Child of the New Forest.

 
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