The Information Theory of Emotions of Musical Chords

TL;DR

This paper proposes an information-theoretic approach to explain why major chords evoke happiness and minor chords evoke sadness, introducing a formula that quantifies emotional responses based on musical pitch relationships.

Contribution

It develops a novel theory and formula linking musical pitch ratios to emotional perception, addressing a long-standing question in music psychology.

Findings

Major chords are associated with positive emotional signals.

Minor chords are associated with negative emotional signals.

A quantitative formula predicts emotional responses to chords.

Abstract

The paper offers a solution to the centuries-old puzzle - why the major chords are perceived as happy and the minor chords as sad - based on the information theory of emotions. A theory and a formula of musical emotions were created. They define the sign and the amplitude of the utilitarian emotional coloration of separate major and minor chords through relative pitches of constituent sounds. Keywords: chord, major, minor, the formula of musical emotions, the information theory of emotions.