A study published in the journal Emotion earlier this month suggests we’re hard-wired to associate sadness with minor keys. In fact, minor tone relationships are coded into our speech.
In music, a minor third is a smaller musical interval (by a half-step) than a major third. Major thirds typically convey positive emotions, while minor thirds seem sad. Listen to these examples:
Here’s a major third:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
And a minor third:
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Which one sounds sadder to you? Another quick test: “Here Comes the Sun” is written in a major key, and “Eleanor Rigby” is in a minor key.
For the study, researchers at Tufts University recorded actors reciting meaning-neutral two-syllable lines (like “come here”) in a sad tone, and then used a computer program to analyze changes in pitch. The intervals of the two syllables, or the distance between the pitches, consistently matched the frequencies of a minor third. The study suggests that “human vocal expressions and music share an acoustic code for communicating sadness.”
Similar studies have been done before, and the results often lead researchers to wonder which came first – music or speech? The roots of this tonal connection could be in early pre-linguistic emotional vocalizations, say the study authors.
The study focuses only on American English and the Western system of musical notation. African and Asian musical traditions treat tonality very differently. Could it also be possible this connection between music and language is learned?
Related:
Does a minor key give everyone the blues? (Nature News)
“Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key” (Willie Guthrie/Wilco)
(Via Scientific American)
