Abstract Are there some songs that always make you feel sad when you hear them? How about "Scarborough Fair," George Gershwin's "Summertime," or the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby"? All of these songs are in a minor key. Minor keys have more intervals, or halftones, than major keys do. Some musicologists (people who study music) maintain that minor-key songs are more likely to be perceived as sad, while major-key songs are more likely to be interpreted as happy. You can research the competing explanations about why this would be true. But do you think the statement is accurate? Do songs in a minor key seem sadder than those in a major key? You can conduct your own research to find out by playing or singing the same songs (or recording and playing back later) in a major and a minor key. If you don't know how to convert a song from one type of key to another, ask a more experienced musician or a music teacher for help. Have your audience fill out a survey about how happy or sad they feel each version of the song is. For help designing your survey, read the Science Buddies guide to Designing a Survey.Bibliography This website offers an introduction to what makes a sad song seem sad:
Variations
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Psychologist Why people take certain actions can often feel like a mystery. Psychologists help solve these mysteries by investigating the physical, cognitive, emotional, or social aspects of human behavior and the human mind. Some psychologists also apply these findings in order to design better products or to help people change their behaviors. |
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Anthropologist Where do we come from? Why do we walk upright? Why do we behave the way we do? These are just some of the big and fascinating questions that anthropologists try to answer. Anthropologists study all aspects of human life, in every region of the world, throughout all time. They might focus on everything from present-day cultures and human behavior, traditions, and prehistoric cultures to the biology and evolution of humans, or the origin and evolution of language. | |
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