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Major Key Blues

Lately I’ve been enchanted by a series of minor-keyed sad songs converted to major keys, and vice versa. Hearing familiar songs switched into a different minor or major key is quite strange, and is unsettling to my ears in a way that I can’t quite pin down.

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American


Lately I've been enchanted by a series of minor-keyed sad songs converted to major keys, and vice versa. Hearing familiar songs switched into a different minor or major key is quite strange, and is unsettling to my ears in a way that I can't quite pin down.

My two favorites of the moment are REM's Losing My Religion and the The Beatles' Hey Jude, both below. Take a listen!

Losing My Religion, switched to a major ("happy") key:


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Hey Jude, now in a minor ("sad") key:

Why are most sad-sounding songs in minor keys, and most happy-sounding songs in major keys? And why does it make me feel so strange to hear a happy, major-keyed song in a minor key?

There are a few things that researchers have pointed to that might make songs sound sad. One is the minor third, which is perhaps based on sad speech patterns, and another is the appoggiatura, as are used in Adele's Some Like You. But since there are so many cultural and individual factors that come into play when someone perceives a song as "sad," it is doubtful that the essence of a sad song is comprised of a strict formula on which all can agree.

I've been considering the role of scientific studies within cultural, sociological, and individual frameworks. How much of our perception of sad music is cultural, and how much approaches universal? As we push toward progress in these areas, I'll be listening to these inverted songs and wondering about my own personal influences that make these songs sound strange.

About Princess Ojiaku

Hey there! I'm a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin Madison in the Neuroscience and Public Policy program. I'm also a musician who played in two bands in North Carolina, one called Pink Flag and another called Deals. My personal passions are science, music, and cycling as transportation.

I got into science as a kid while tagging along and watching my mom do experiments in her lab. I found that while I loved science, I didn't want to be alone in an ivory tower, crunching data that few others would understand. I also noticed that many other people thought science was this scary and incomprehensible entity of obscurity. When I realized that there were people working to make science fun and accessible to everyone, I knew that this was exactly what I wanted to do. The two things I find the most immensely interesting and continually impressing are music and neuroscience, so these are the topics that I'll focus on in my blog. Philosophy and politics are my second loves, so I might pop in an occasional post on these topics as well. Ultimately I am here to share things that give me wonder. I hope that reading Science with Moxie gives you a bit of that wonder too.

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