The emotions behind chord choices

[rp314]

To me it's all about context

When I studied harmony sometime during the 20th century, this was the basic approach. It can also be added (albeit at the risk of sounding like one is trying to bring back the 60s ) that the interpretation of the feeling in a chord or chord progression is mostly cultural.

Thus, the purpose of a chord is generally best elucidated by looking at what came before it and what comes after.

[Barf]

Jmi Hendrix's favorite chord was something like the E7#9 (or probabably Eb#9 because he lowered his guitartuning a half tone). It reminded him of the color purple.

was he synesthetic?

Anyone can become synesthetic after taking truckloads of acid...

[Barf]

Jmi Hendrix's favorite chord was something like the E7#9 (or probabably Eb#9 because he lowered his guitartuning a half tone). It reminded him of the color purple.

But didn't he die before that movie was made?

Usually its me that makes such lame jokes...

[Xenos]

Sometimes I'll use min7b5, augmented and diminished chords to kick up the tension to extreme levels. These chords lead to some rather interesting and spicy progressions when used properly.

[susiwong]

An interesting approach (sounds obvious, but there's more to it than meets the eye) is to realize that ALL notes sounding simultaneously at any given time form the chord at that time, meaning bass, pads, leads, melodies, vocals, you name it.
Many people don't include bass and melody in their chordal thinking, only considering "pads".
This results in simpler lead sheets, but using that more "holistic" approach from time to time can give you lots of fresh ideas.
Talk about "slash chords" ...
Cheers, susiwong

[ouroboros]

To me it's all about context

When I studied harmony sometime during the 20th century, this was the basic approach. It can also be added (albeit at the risk of sounding like one is trying to bring back the 60s ) that the interpretation of the feeling in a chord or chord progression is mostly cultural.

Thus, the purpose of a chord is generally best elucidated by looking at what came before it and what comes after.

does this imply that the first chord/note then defines the whole progression, or is a piece taken as a whole?

[herodotus]

Many attempts have been made to associate harmonic progressions and melodic figures with certain moods. Some are even considered classics, like this one by Deryck Cook.

I have read many, and they all fall short by a mile.

For instance, the OP's opinion that "We all know the basic stuff like major conveys optimism and minor conveys moodiness"
is, I believe, quite far from being universal.

I just got done with a piece which is clearly and entirely in C major, and almost everyone who heard it called it 'sad' or 'melancholy', with a few 'uplifting' or 'relaxing and hypnotic' comments thrown in just to confuse the matter a bit more.

Personally, I think such things are quite personal and based on musical education and background, and all sorts of other formative experiences such as movies and even advertisements.

[rp314]

To me it's all about context

When I studied harmony sometime during the 20th century, this was the basic approach. It can also be added (albeit at the risk of sounding like one is trying to bring back the 60s ) that the interpretation of the feeling in a chord or chord progression is mostly cultural.

Thus, the purpose of a chord is generally best elucidated by looking at what came before it and what comes after.

does this imply that the first chord/note then defines the whole progression, or is a piece taken as a whole?

If I understand your comment correctly, this whole topic is mostly academic. To wit, all works should be "taken whole" but in learning how to compose we often need to abstract elements in order to simplify the process.

IMHO abstracting to the point that one judges a chord or note is not advisable and some amount of context is always needed. How much is a question of pedagogy and am sure folks today are using something besides the Hindemith and Piston texts that were common back when I studied the stuff.

[mistertoast]

D minor...is the saddest of all keys, I find.

[nuffink]

D minor...is the saddest of all keys, I find.

Playa has a preset called Tuffnels Saddest.

[mistertoast]

>>Playa has a preset called Tuffnels Saddest.

Really? Haha! That's great!

[tee boy]

I tend to think that the voicing of the chords is equally as important. The way the melody is decordated, the harmonic rhythm, the voice leading etc.

You can make pretty simple chord progressions very powerful if you have a good grasp on the above. If you then start extending the chords and working chromaticism into the progressions, then you have something powerful.

Dont forget, the majority of the stuff written during the classical period was almost completely diatonic, using simple I, IV, V progressions. If you want to learn how to add emotional weight to music, then Id suggest looking at music from that period. Then moving onto romantic period stuff to see how greater dissonance and chromaticism can up the emotional anti.

TB

[donkey tugger]

chromaticism

Is that an actual word? Yay! I like it.

[the_nihilist]

Many attempts have been made to associate harmonic progressions and melodic figures with certain moods. Some are even considered classics, like this one by Deryck Cook.

I have read many, and they all fall short by a mile.

For instance, the OP's opinion that "We all know the basic stuff like major conveys optimism and minor conveys moodiness"
is, I believe, quite far from being universal.

I just got done with a piece which is clearly and entirely in C major, and almost everyone who heard it called it 'sad' or 'melancholy', with a few 'uplifting' or 'relaxing and hypnotic' comments thrown in just to confuse the matter a bit more.

Personally, I think such things are quite personal and based on musical education and background, and all sorts of other formative experiences such as movies and even advertisements.

Excellent points. I can think of a few Radiohead songs that, even though they're written in major key, are quite depressing sounding. Wasn't it Stravinsky who said that music was devoid of meaning by itself, and that it was up to the listener to provide context? Even things like modal music are still rooted in that void of context.

What would 500 years of western music sound like if it was rooted in say... complex harmonic relationships exacted through differential calculus rather than a dominant-tonic cadence? Would we get that same "rooted" feeling if we listened to this:

[Chuck E. Jesus]

D minor...is the saddest of all keys, I find.

makes everyone weep instantly....