Why do specific sound frequencies are making us sad while others are making us happy?
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Different chords signify different things.
Major chords have an uplifting tone, and sound as something beginning, rising, uplifting. Birth so to speak.
Minor chords have a depressing, “ending-like” sound. Like something is dying, ending, coming to a conclusion. Basically they signify death.
You can look at major chords as being spring, and minor as autumn. And usually, something ending makes us sad, i would say because of our own finite nature. Time is precious and unrepeatable , so when it runs out, you feel a sense of helplessness and sadness.
First of all, it’s not actually specific frequencies, but ratios of frequencies.
Most people don’t have perfect pitch. Most people can’t hear a specific frequency. In other words, if you took a familiar song and played it for most people in a slightly different key – starting on a higher or lower frequency – they wouldn’t notice the difference.
When you play two or more notes at the same time, it’s the *ratio* of the two frequencies that matters.
When you play two notes together and their frequencies have a very simple relationship using small numbers, it sounds “good”. Mathematically the two sounds fit together and make nice simple patterns. Our brains love those patterns.
Why? Probably evolution. It was probably advantageous in history for our brain to be able to hear certain patterns in sounds. Music just exploits that.
All of the harmonies in music are built on top of simple ratios of frequencies, like 2:1, 3:2, 4:3, and 5:4.
So that part is innate.
However, the patterns that we build on top of that are more cultural, historical. All music around the world is based on the same fundamental harmonies. But all of the complexity we create out of those differs.
Trying to assign emotions to it gets even trickier.
Major = happy, minor = sad is a huge oversimplification. It’s absolutely possible for a piece in a major key to be sad, or a piece in a minor key to be happy. But there’s a combination of certain harmonies and the way they make us feel that are universal to all humans, and then a lot of cultural tradition and history that musicians exploit by reminding you of other songs and harmonies you’ve heard, that all combine to give you feelings from music.
Professional Music Educator here.
What frequencies make you happy? Which ones make you sad? Your premise is that a frequency can alter your mood. They don’t, and can’t.
If you really are asking, “Why does music make us happy or sad?” I’d still argue it doesn’t. Music doesn’t have a direct power over us. You can’t play “Happy” by Pharrell at someone that’s sobbing and expect them to stand up with a smile on their face.
You’re interacting with music. Your past experiences, your musical tastes, your “you” is reflected and refracted in the music you listen to. It’s complicated for sure. Like someone else mentioned, it’s a lot more than Major and Minor or individual frequencies.
The perception of major chords as sounding happy and minor chords as sounding sad is largely a cultural and historical convention that has evolved over time. This association is due in part to the use of major and minor chords in different musical genres and styles, and the emotions typically conveyed by those genres. However, it’s important to note that emotions evoked by music are subjective and can vary greatly from person to person.
Different chords signify different things.
Major chords have an uplifting tone, and sound as something beginning, rising, uplifting. Birth so to speak.
Minor chords have a depressing, “ending-like” sound. Like something is dying, ending, coming to a conclusion. Basically they signify death.
You can look at major chords as being spring, and minor as autumn. And usually, something ending makes us sad, i would say because of our own finite nature. Time is precious and unrepeatable , so when it runs out, you feel a sense of helplessness and sadness.
Conditioning. When every happy moment occurs in the major key and every sad moment happens with a minor key in all the media we consume, we start to associate chord progressions with those emotions.
There’s lots of other factors too.
First of all, it’s not actually specific frequencies, but ratios of frequencies.
Most people don’t have perfect pitch. Most people can’t hear a specific frequency. In other words, if you took a familiar song and played it for most people in a slightly different key – starting on a higher or lower frequency – they wouldn’t notice the difference.
When you play two or more notes at the same time, it’s the *ratio* of the two frequencies that matters.
When you play two notes together and their frequencies have a very simple relationship using small numbers, it sounds “good”. Mathematically the two sounds fit together and make nice simple patterns. Our brains love those patterns.
Why? Probably evolution. It was probably advantageous in history for our brain to be able to hear certain patterns in sounds. Music just exploits that.
All of the harmonies in music are built on top of simple ratios of frequencies, like 2:1, 3:2, 4:3, and 5:4.
So that part is innate.
However, the patterns that we build on top of that are more cultural, historical. All music around the world is based on the same fundamental harmonies. But all of the complexity we create out of those differs.
Trying to assign emotions to it gets even trickier.
Major = happy, minor = sad is a huge oversimplification. It’s absolutely possible for a piece in a major key to be sad, or a piece in a minor key to be happy. But there’s a combination of certain harmonies and the way they make us feel that are universal to all humans, and then a lot of cultural tradition and history that musicians exploit by reminding you of other songs and harmonies you’ve heard, that all combine to give you feelings from music.
Professional Music Educator here.
What frequencies make you happy? Which ones make you sad? Your premise is that a frequency can alter your mood. They don’t, and can’t.
If you really are asking, “Why does music make us happy or sad?” I’d still argue it doesn’t. Music doesn’t have a direct power over us. You can’t play “Happy” by Pharrell at someone that’s sobbing and expect them to stand up with a smile on their face.
You’re interacting with music. Your past experiences, your musical tastes, your “you” is reflected and refracted in the music you listen to. It’s complicated for sure. Like someone else mentioned, it’s a lot more than Major and Minor or individual frequencies.
The perception of major chords as sounding happy and minor chords as sounding sad is largely a cultural and historical convention that has evolved over time. This association is due in part to the use of major and minor chords in different musical genres and styles, and the emotions typically conveyed by those genres. However, it’s important to note that emotions evoked by music are subjective and can vary greatly from person to person.
Conditioning. When every happy moment occurs in the major key and every sad moment happens with a minor key in all the media we consume, we start to associate chord progressions with those emotions.
There’s lots of other factors too.
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