# Sad music in major keys



## Aurelian

Why do composers set sad music in major keys? Examples are the slow movements of:

Beethoven's _Tempest _Sonata (Bb Major)

Mozart's G-Minor String Quintet (Eb Major)

Schubert's _Unfinished _(E Major)


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## Woodduck

Maybe they feel that sadness can be expressed in major keys. Or maybe "sadness" is just something we read into it. Both, I think.


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## EdwardBast

Aurelian said:


> Why do composers set sad music in major keys? Examples are the slow movements of:
> 
> Beethoven's _Tempest _Sonata (Bb Major)
> 
> Mozart's G-Minor String Quintet (Eb Major)
> 
> Schubert's _Unfinished _(E Major)


Why? That question makes no sense. It's not like the composers had some sad music and then decided to "set" it in the major mode. The mode at any particular moment is an intrinsic element of the music, not some variable setting applied to it. The question that makes sense is: _How_ do composers create sad music in major keys? The answer, if we take these examples as a guide, is: They write much of the movement in the minor mode and mix notes and harmonies from the minor mode into themes beginning and ending in the major mode.


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## MAXSWAGGER

Aurelian said:


> Why do composers set sad music in major keys?


Because they were in grateful sorrow.


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## jegreenwood

MAXSWAGGER said:


> Because they were in grateful sorrow.


You mean like this?


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## mbhaub

Of course one of the saddest tunes ever, "TAPS", played at every military funeral is just the notes of a major chord.


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## EdwardBast

mbhaub said:


> Of course one of the saddest tunes ever, "TAPS", played at every military funeral is just the notes of a major chord.


Ah, but _what_ major chord? What if it's an eternally unresolved V chord in the minor mode ending on the fifth degree of the mode?


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## Woodduck

EdwardBast said:


> Ah, but _what_ major chord? What if it's an eternally unresolved V chord in the minor mode ending on the fifth degree of the mode?


Appropriate for one who died before his time.


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## mbhaub

To my ear it's clear that the tune begins on the 5th, moving to the tonic. By the end, there's no argument - it's a major chord. Here's the official US Military version. Written in C, but depending on what instrument is used could be in almost any key - a major one!


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## EdwardBast

mbhaub said:


> To my ear it's clear that the tune begins on the 5th, moving to the tonic. By the end, there's no argument - it's a major chord. Here's the official US Military version. Written in C, but depending on what instrument is used could be in almost any key - a major one!
> View attachment 128537


Four notes does not a key make.  On a more serious note: Taps is sad by convention and association, not so much by its musical character, although slow tempo tends toward the serious and solemn.

If it is a major key, in this case the answer to why is clear: It's a bugle.


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## maestro267

I find B major to be a very sad key. Not surprising as the scale uses all 5 black keys in the octave.


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## hammeredklavier

Charles Hazlewood thinks the slow movement of Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik K525 is the saddest music ever written in a major key.


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## EdwardBast

MAXSWAGGER said:


> I prefer women


Real ones? I ask because some of your posts suggest otherwise ("Nudge, nudge, know what I mean?"):



MAXSWAGGER said:


> Sounds like a pornstar name :lol:





MAXSWAGGER said:


> Theoretical skill is like watching porn all day - no matter how much time you spend - you're still a virgin.


Quite the expert it seems. Alas, this is a music theory forum. This instructional video might be of use to you:


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## mikeh375

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## Bwv 1080

No one mentioned Mahler?


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## millionrainbows

This is major, but can easily evoke tears:


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## sam93

I think the major key is just as powerful in expressing sadness as minor. Afterall, the key of a piece is really just the very, very basic foundation, while it's mood and musical expression lie within its harmonies and melodies. An example I always think of when having this conversation is Chopin's Etude in E major Op.10 No.3. Despite being in a major key, whenever I hear this piece I always feel so nostalgic and sentimental.


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