why the blues scale?

[flyfisher]

[quote name='3below' timestamp='1386536531' post='2301255']
As above. It works because it sounds right to our ears. At this point we get into the debate - did we make music theory to fit what we hear or was the theory in place and we found it. That is not my take by the way, it is the debate of Popper, Kuhn, Dewey et al in Science.
[/quote]

Interesting. Sort of like did we invent or discover mathematics?

[dlloyd]

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1386538862' post='2301300']
Interesting. Sort of like did we invent or discover mathematics?
[/quote]

It sort of is mathematics.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='3below' timestamp='1386536531' post='2301255']
As above. It works because it sounds right to our ears. At this point we get into the debate - did we make music theory to fit what we hear or was the theory in place and we found it. That is not my take by the way, it is the debate of Popper, Kuhn, Dewey et al in Science.
[/quote]
That invented versus discovery debate is ancient and goes back to the likes of Pythagoras and Plato.

[Guest bassman7755]

Personally I think much of it is programmed response. I think we learn to associate "happy" with major keys and "sad/rousing" with minor for example.

[Wil]

There are theories about whether major and minor equating to happy/sad ties in with early human communication. I remember reading (I think in David Byrne's book "How Music Works") that studies have found some correlation between major/minor intervals in speech and emotional state. Not sure if it's something that's been validated/proven or not but interesting none the less.

[flyfisher]

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1386543918' post='2301392']
Personally I think much of it is programmed response. I think we learn to associate "happy" with major keys and "sad/rousing" with minor for example.
[/quote]

Wouldn't that mean that whoever discovered/invented/defined major and minor keys must have also defined them as 'happy' and 'sad' so that we could then learn that association?

[iconic]

Interesting to see how this thread has gone...some deep stuff here.

as regards the human emotional side of things strangly i cant agree with the typical happy major sad minor statement... i actually find the minor more 'happy' than a major....when i noodle along to to drum track i prefer the sound of a minor scale.....my mrs would say i'm a pessimist and bottle half empty sorta guy.....i wonder if theres a link there....she is more a half full sort of major scale person!

[flyfisher]

I'd never thought of it that way, but I quite like the idea of describing someone in major/minor terms rather than glass half full/half empty.

Mind you, major and minor have other connotations that might cause complications.