Major and minor chords in Western music make us feel a certain way, and research suggest this may be because of an evolutionary trait.
Turn on any major pop radio station in the Western world and even with a new song, you might recognize some familiar features: a formulaic structure, themes of romance, a catchy melody in the major scale — all wrapping up in less than three and a half minutes., so we listen on repeat. But why do they make us feel good?
The researchers asked musicians and non-musicians in Sydney, as well as different communities from Papua New Guinea with varying degrees of exposure to Western music, to associate major and minor melodies with either happiness or sadness. Or they asked for translations of happiness and sadness in the linguistic customs of the Papua New Guinean communities.
The study shows familiarity through cultural exposure is important for the association of major and minor melodies with happiness and sadness respectively. Smit points out that major chords tend to appear more frequently than minor chords in popular music. And research shows that humans are likely to attribute positive emotions to things that we are familiar with, compared to things that we are less familiar with.Smit also thinks there could be some associative conditioning at play.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Wireless EV Charging Company WiTricity Wins Major Investments, Partnership As Cord-Free Charging ExpandsWiTricity, a global developer of wireless charging technology, is now attracting millions in new investments from automotive suppliers and tech companies and entering into a new agreement with a major manufacturer of wireless charging systems for industrial vehicles.
Read more »
Major Outdoor Retailer REI Joins Forces With Airstream for Special Edition CamperThe 2023 REI Co-Op Special Edition Airstream Basecamp 16X combines the passion of Airstream and REI into a tangible tiny travel trailer.
Read more »
Binance to Sell NFT Tickets for Major Italian Soccer Club Lazio – Exchanges Bitcoin NewsCryptocurrency exchange Binance will be offering NFT tickets for the home games of one of Italy’s leading soccer teams, Lazio.
Read more »
Ursa Major students will be moved to 3 other JBER schools as district addresses earthquake concernsThe students enrolled in Ursa Major Elementary School will be relocated to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson's other three elementary schools after a new report on Ursa Major raised concerns about the building’s safety during an earthquake.
Read more »