This is our second story in our series on the characteristics of musical keys. We started with the “people’s key,” C major. From there it’s an easy skip to D, the root of today’s subject, the “saddest ...

Need a challenge? Take your favorite happy song and type the title into YouTube, followed by “in a minor key.” You’ve likely had this distinction drilled into your head by popular music and movies: ...

To begin our discussion on what it is that makes minor chords sad, we will first listen to some examples of the use of minor chords and minor keys that demonstrate breathtaking power to convey deep ...