Major/minor

[Quijote]

Why do major and minor chords in music affect us the way they do?
Highly debatable but let's give it a go: https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...he-way-they-do

[Peter]

Very interesting article. I suppose if you just play a minor chord and ask a child if it is sad or happy, they will inevitably answer sad, but if you have a bigger context, say a phrase or even a whole piece the answer would be quite different. I think I'm right in saying that to the medieval ear the major 3rd and 6th were regarded as discordant which is why we have the 'Perfect' intervals of 4th, 5th and 8ve for their harmonic purity?

[Quijote]

Very interesting article. I suppose if you just play a minor chord and ask a child if it is sad or happy, they will inevitably answer sad, but if you have a bigger context, say a phrase or even a whole piece the answer would be quite different. I think I'm right in saying that to the medieval ear the major 3rd and 6th were regarded as discordant which is why we have the 'Perfect' intervals of 4th, 5th and 8ve for their harmonic purity?

I would have thought so, too, but it's not that black and white, it seems. I had a group of theory beginners and I tried that very simple exercise (playing a D minor chord): some said "happy", others said "sad". I then played a D major chord: "Ah, that's happy", most said. I then played, softly, a B major chord. "Sad", said many. I carried on, playing major and minor chords with different dynamics and the reults were quite surprising.
I can't remember the exact bar number but there is a moment in Beethoven's 4th piano concerto where there is a sudden - juddering - change in tonality with a crashing major chord (in 1st inversion?) that almost blurs the major/minor distinction.

[Sorrano]

Setting aside dynamics and ranges I think that the minor modes lend themselves better to more contrasting tonalities with the chord structures based on the scales. Context is important and probably the most driving force for the listener to determine what "mood" the music is in. I can't really put into words, very well, what I am trying to communicate, but I think there is a greater range for expression in the minor.