What makes a song sound happy? It depends on your culture, study finds

The perception of music in major keys as happy and minor keys as sad is not universal, Australian researchers say

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What makes a piece of music seem happy or sad? Whether it has been composed in a major or minor key is a significant factor. It's part of what distinguishes the cheeriness of Walking on Sunshine from the pensiveness of Ain't No Sunshine, for example.

But the perception of major keys as happy and minor keys as sad is not universal, according to Australian research that suggests the effect may result from the influence of western culture.

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