KVR Audio

neueliteratur · Post by **neueliteratur** » Sun Mar 27, 2011 7:12 pm

Hi,

when we start learning music, we are taught that minor is sad, major is happy.

Let's do a list of counter-examples:

Happy minor song:

Sad major song:

tapper mike · Post by **tapper mike** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 2:49 am

I've read that and heard that regarding classical music but I've never taken it to heart. Tempo, and metre have a greater impact on happy/sad then major and minor (in my opinion)

Eric Turkel has some great writing regarding expression through accents metre timbre and note placement.
http://www.amazon.com/Arranging-Techniq ... 082561130X

It's the best book I've ever read on composition and arrangement.

jopy · Post by **jopy** » Thu Mar 31, 2011 2:55 am

How's this--upbeat, poppy, light, breezy, and miserable in mood:

Of course, about 1/2 of the Smiths' songs in major are sad, but what better example than a song titled "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now?"

Another great example is this nearly ecstatic sounding major key tune from Zimbabwe's Thomas Mapfumo:

Which sounds like heaven to me (those intertwining guitar lines just drive me mad with joy). It's about misery that accompanies alcohol abuse.

neueliteratur · Post by **neueliteratur** » Sun Apr 03, 2011 11:04 am

jmeier wrote:How's this--upbeat, poppy, light, breezy, and miserable in mood:

Of course, about 1/2 of the Smiths' songs in major are sad, but what better example than a song titled "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now?"

What a cool melody line

bluedad · Post by **bluedad** » Sun Apr 03, 2011 12:55 pm

halfstep wrote:
jmeier wrote:How's this--upbeat, poppy, light, breezy, and miserable in mood:

Of course, about 1/2 of the Smiths' songs in major are sad, but what better example than a song titled "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now?"

What a cool melody line

what cool lyrics!

bluelife · Post by **bluelife** » Sun Apr 03, 2011 2:32 pm

Dreadlock Holiday, Gm but somehow happy:)

dgkenney · Post by **dgkenney** » Sun Apr 03, 2011 2:41 pm

Those rules are there for a purpose.

If you start trying to write happy songs with minors and sad songs with majors you will reverse the polarity of the earth and we will go spinning of into the black void.

Stop it, stop it stop it! Please, before it is too late.

Dan

alienmachine · Post by **alienmachine** » Sun Apr 03, 2011 2:54 pm

bluedad wrote:
halfstep wrote:
jmeier wrote:How's this--upbeat, poppy, light, breezy, and miserable in mood:

Of course, about 1/2 of the Smiths' songs in major are sad, but what better example than a song titled "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now?"

What a cool melody line
what cool lyrics!

I still remember listening to Morrissey and the Smiths alone in my room when I was a depressed and miserable teenager, and I realized that I was not alone in the world. Morrissey's poetry and Johnny Marr's music

is the perfect combination of happiness and sadness at the same time. [/quote]

osiris · Post by **osiris** » Sun Apr 03, 2011 3:26 pm

This is the problem facing me now. I'm remixing a trance song for this singer. It's great, she's great, but it's called 'I Know I'm Losing You'(not happy), and she's sung it in D major!!!!
Could I get away with a minor equivalent, or does it work that way??

alienmachine · Post by **alienmachine** » Sun Apr 03, 2011 3:50 pm

osiris wrote:This is the problem facing me now. I'm remixing a trance song for this singer. It's great, she's great, but it's called 'I Know I'm Losing You'(not happy), and she's sung it in D major!!!!
Could I get away with a minor equivalent, or does it work that way??

Take a look at this: http://howmusicreallyworks.com/Pages_Ch ... ter_6.html
This really helped me to construct harmonic progressions that make sense

and there is some discussion on that topic.

bpgeez · Post by **bpgeez** » Sun Apr 03, 2011 8:24 pm

@ dgkenney That's HILARIOUS

bpgeez · Post by **bpgeez** » Sun Apr 03, 2011 8:25 pm

osiris wrote:This is the problem facing me now. I'm remixing a trance song for this singer. It's great, she's great, but it's called 'I Know I'm Losing You'(not happy), and she's sung it in D major!!!!
Could I get away with a minor equivalent, or does it work that way??

Well in the words of Einstein, "Everything's relative" (Relative minor that is

) D major = Bm

Audiosprite · Post by **Audiosprite** » Sun Apr 03, 2011 11:08 pm

i find it's more useful to think of minor as "soft" and major as "hard," which is what i've been told are the literal translations of "aoelian" and "ionian." though google translate doesn't seem to think so.

so i'd put in danny elfman's Corpse Bride score in for a bittersweet, sometimes downright cheerful minor piece.

anomandaris1 · Post by **anomandaris1** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 5:36 am

this "duck" or "boney m" song is Major, not minor - chords are pure major - and why do you think that "Gymnopédie" piece is sad? I think it's very tender.

osiris · Post by **osiris** » Mon Apr 04, 2011 1:05 pm

I guess I discovered that myself (D major - B minor) because that's exactly what I've got going now. Thanks for the help!

Happy minor songs & sad major songs.