# 43 mph makes happy songs sad **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 25, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/43-mph-makes-happy-songs-sad/457730 "2008-07-25T13:46:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/43-mph-makes-happy-songs-sad/457730/1 "2008-07-25T13:46:41Z")
It’s the Doppler effect, people! [Moving to the music](http://physicsworld.com/cws/article/news/35119;jsessionid=4E4BB53CAE3037CB0FE65D9201E817E4) > [@](#): > > to hear the happy-sounding C major (which consists of the notes C, E and G) as the sad-sounding C minor (C, E flat and G) the listener would have to move with a speed of 19.25 ms-1 (about 70 km/h or 43 mph) away from the E emitter. Making the opposite transformation would instead require travelling in the opposite direction with a speed of 20.40 ms-1. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/43-mph-makes-happy-songs-sad/457730/2 "2008-07-25T18:49:09Z")
Did you hear a chromatic passing tone? Because something led me to you! Cool link. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/43-mph-makes-happy-songs-sad/457730/3 "2008-07-25T19:43:55Z")
Is there something inherent in major vs minor that makes them feel happy or sad to humans? Or is it the contexts they’re used in that make one associate them one way or the other? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/43-mph-makes-happy-songs-sad/457730/4 "2008-07-25T20:08:50Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] Is there something inherent in major vs minor that makes them feel happy or sad to humans? Or is it the contexts they’re used in that make one associate them one way or the other? [/QUOTE] Context, and cultural association. There’s plenty of pieces which work the other way - [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=852gverKRPo) is hardly happy, nor will [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPba-i26YNA) have many people in tears. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/43-mph-makes-happy-songs-sad/457730/5 "2008-07-25T20:32:07Z")
[QUOTE=GorillaMan] …nor will [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPba-i26YNA) have many people in tears. [/QUOTE] The minor chord does make it sound a little tense and creepy, though. Besides, the saddest key of all isn’t A Minor, it’s [D Minor.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5dnVlbKgoM)😉 ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/43-mph-makes-happy-songs-sad/457730/6 "2008-07-25T21:08:19Z")
[QUOTE=KGS] The minor chord does make it sound a little tense and creepy, though [/QUOTE] I don’t hear it that way at all - a good example of subjective analysis which can’t tell us anything about the fundamental characteristics of major or minor sounds. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2008, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/43-mph-makes-happy-songs-sad/457730/7 "2008-07-27T02:50:17Z")
It’s a little bit Cafe, it’s a little bit MPSIMS. I’m going to move this to Cafe because I think they might be able to answer **gigi** ’s question. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2008, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/43-mph-makes-happy-songs-sad/457730/8 "2008-07-28T22:40:36Z")
If I’m understanding the article right, this would require three different sources for each note of the triad, right? Otherwise, with one source playing a chord, it would only be shifted in pitch, not perceived tonality. Am I missing something? If not, why is this news?