You Are Reading the First 6 FREE Chapters (470 pages)
Minor Triad: The "Sad" Chord
Exactly the same applies to the minor triad in harmony. The minor triad consists of exactly the same internal and outer intervals as the major triad. The only difference is that the two internal intervals are flipped the other way around, so that the minor third relates to scale degree 1 instead of the major third relating to scale degree 1. The perceived “mood” of the chord changes completely.
Unlike the major triad, the minor triad does not have all that internal overtone-reinforcement (Table 35). This could well be what causes the brain to perceive the minor triad as emotionally "sad." That is, the discrepancy between what you’d expect an “ideal” triad to sound like (the sunny sound of a major triad) and what the minor triad actually sounds like (sad) could be due to lack of overtone-reinforcement. (More on chords and their emotional implications near the end of this chapter.)