Or, to get a bit local, “Farewell To Nova Scotia” is a killer. It’s significant that each stanza starts in a major tonality but ends in a minor tonality.
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Double Bass Major key sound sad
- Thread starter GC34
- Start date
I was going to say "Fake Plastic Trees" by Radiohead. Even if you didn't understand the words, it's very sad sounding.
I recall that in my early academic music training book on composition said that songs all in major triads sound lifeless and unhappy.
Modality of melody and harmony means different things in different world music cultures. Jewish music likes minor for happy songs and even hicaz (5th mode of harm. minor). They symbolize sadness with major modes. Greek music is likewise quirky.
The "Green Onions" bass pattern (and its many ubiquitous variants) is all major chords with its 1 - minor 3rd - 4 roots forming a minor pattern. I won't say that it sounds sad necessarily, but it does sound kind of ominous. As far as a minor key sounding happy ... sometimes a minor key pattern played with a funky groove can sound happy.
Oh my Lord that IS a great track! I told my friend the title, turns out he thought I was making it up (I was an active drug addict - h - he wasn’t). He texted me recently and had just heard it…30 years after the fact! GREAT CHOICE!!
And the quintessential example of the reverse (minor key, happy lyrics):
Thanks for bringing back memories. Around 50 years ago I "surface" travelled through/ in/ Iran Afghanistan Pakistan, india and et al, and pretty quickly realized that the "emotional" meanings of minor and major thirds in songs were not universal as I had thought. And I believe I found the term "tonal center" much more useful than "key" in trying to understand the music. My ignorance did not stop me from enjoying, and being moved by the wonderful music I heard, even if my emotional responses might have been unintended by the performers. And... I remember hearing radio music in Istanbul/ Turkey which was very advanced "western" music. Schoenberg et al on am!
I lived in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh for about 3 months and studied shahnai music under Ustad Kalimantan Ali Khan there. The season I was there they were playing Raga Malkauns (1, b3, 4, b6, b7) the chief rasa of it being dread. They say if you played it wrong at night a djinn would break your arm.
When I was 8 years old, I took flute lessons for a few years. The major scales (and many other things)I practiced are part of my musical "feel" now at 80 odd (very odd) years old that are part of my bass playing. and the other instruments, and composing that I do and havedone (for $ yet)now. Any practice on any instrument helps musicality on any instrument. And... thinking is overated. the mind to the instrument is unconscious, but can only happen ( in my opinion) with practice of the elements of music, one of which is scales.
Play a cmaj7 drop 2 voicing with the third in the bass and tell me it sounds “happy”
E B C G
E B C G
