RE: [Harp-L] Why do we associate major with happy and minor with sad? (No harp content)

[chicago bluesman <chicagobluesman@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I tend to associate minor key tunes with cultures which have been historically repressed & persecuted.  Think of how Judaism/Jews have  been treated...or Romani (gypsies)...I'm sure there are other examples.   I suppose that just as we associate blues with an oppressed class of people during a specific historical time...some minor key song structures may be linked to other groups which have known great hardship. There must be an ethnomusicologist on the list who can shed more light and put it in context.    But I agree with something written by someone else--some minor key material is funny, whimsical, witty and charming.

> Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2010 09:50:59 -0600
> From: michaelrubinharmonica@xxxxxxxxx
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [Harp-L] Why do we associate major with happy and minor with sad?	(No harp content)
> 
> Guesses?
> Michael Rubin
> Michaelrubinharmonica.com