minor chords
Music's somber voicings
A minor chord is a combination of musical notes that typically sounds sad, dark, or melancholy compared to a major chord's brighter quality.
The distinction comes from the interval between the first and third notes—a minor third rather than a major third.
Minor chords form the emotional backbone of blues, much rock music, and countless ballads: The song shifts to minor chords during the bridge.
Group of three
- intervalDuration between two points
- rootUnderground absorbing structure
- fifthFive's place in sequence
- inversionReversal of position
voicing · arpeggio · progression · cadence · resolution · tonality · transposition · diminished
Subdued, lasting sadness
- sadnessState of emotional pain
- longingIntense, persistent desire
- nostalgiaLonging for the past
- tensionStretched or strained state
sorrow · wistfulness · yearning · heartache · plaintive · somber · bittersweet · mournful
Emotional slow rock song
- grungeAccumulated dirt or filth
- gothic rockMoody post-punk offshoot
- metalHard conductive solid
- emoConfessional rock subgenre
Radiohead · Nirvana · Metallica · Evanescence · breakup song · angst · dramatic · cinematic
Microtonal jazz pitches
- bebopFast, complex jazz style
- balladNarrative poem or song
- modalPertaining to form
- Coltrane"Giant Steps" musician
torch song · standards · voicings · comping · improvisation · Dorian · turnaround · substitution
triad
Group of three
inversion · voicing · arpeggio · progression · cadence · resolution · tonality · transposition · diminished · augmented
melancholy
Subdued, lasting sadness
tension · sorrow · wistfulness · yearning · heartache · plaintive · somber · bittersweet · mournful · brooding
power ballad
Emotional slow rock song
- grungeAccumulated dirt or filth
- gothic rockMoody post-punk offshoot
- metalHard conductive solid
emo · Radiohead · Nirvana · Metallica · Evanescence · breakup song · angst · dramatic · cinematic · epic
blue notes
Microtonal jazz pitches
Coltrane · torch song · standards · voicings · comping · improvisation · Dorian · turnaround · substitution · Miles Davis
Bach
German composer surname
- MozartEighteenth-century Austrian composer
- BeethovenGerman classical music giant
- ChopinPolish Romantic pianist-composer
Schubert · Brahms · Tchaikovsky · requiem · nocturne · sonata · symphony · concerto · fugue · adagio
- chordsA major, B major, C major, D major, E major
- Choral Singinga cappella, voice parts, vocal parts, harmony, homophony