Klarinet Archive - Posting 000880.txt from 2004/03

From: ormondtoby@------.net (Ormondtoby Montoya)
Subj: [kl] Major vs. minor
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2004 10:59:52 -0500

I know this is 'old hat' to many of you, but I learned yesterday that
major and minor chords can be divided into separate categories on a
purely physical basis of how they are produced, as well as on the less
clear-cut basis of their sounds --- such as "happy" vs. "plaintive".
This is high school stuff for some of us, but it wasn't for me.

The word "plaintive" is an emotional response, and I can understand how
different persons and different cultures respond differently to a
particular sound; but it **is** somewhat relieving to me to learn that
there is a clear-cut physical difference between the two categories,
regardless of emotional response.

If you cause a string to vibrate in a smooth curve with a single peak
(conceptually by plucking it in the middle, although the curve will not
be smooth in real life), you will receive a certain note. Then if you
cause the string to vibrate with two peaks, and finally with three
peaks, you will receive two more notes. The three notes form a major
triad, such as the C major chord.

In order to get a minor triad, you must disrupt this progression and
choose the middle note to be higher in the 1-2-3 progession, thereby
disrupting its <choose your own adjective - "most orderly"?> quality.

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