How does music have different moods? What exactly makes a combination of notes sound “happy” or “sad”?
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NOW you’re asking the right questions. Everyone is responding “it’s cultural” which is mostly true, but effectively worthless. You’re not going to be changing your culture anytime soon, and neither are any listeners, and it doesn’t really explain how to leverage that information. I think the answer you are looking for is *intervals*. People form associations based on the *difference* between notes, or more technically, the ratio between note frequencies. If you can build a dictionary of sounds based on their emotional feel it’s extremely helpful for playing by ear. This method extends to scales, modes, chord composition and chord progression too. And you don’t have to memorize any notes! Just the relationships between numbered intervals! This reveals something interesting about music that most musicians miss, I think.
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