Digital Commons Network^™

The Influence Of Inversions On The Perception Of Major And Minor Chords, Vincenzo Belli

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

A musical chord consists of three or more simultaneous notes. Of particular importance in Western music are major and minor triads. A root-position major triad consists of a tonic note, a note a major third (4 half-steps) above it, and a note a perfect fifth (7 half-steps) above it—e.g., C-E-G for a C-major chord. Similarly, a root-position minor triad consists of a tonic, a minor third (3 half-steps) above it, and the perfect fifth—e.g., C-Eb-G for a C-minor chord. Even non-musicians reliably distinguish between root-position major and minor triads as “happy” or “sad” respectively. However, there has been little investigation …