Out of context chord recognition is destructive, it always leads to the wrong attribution when listening in context, and certainly when voiced on a variety of instruments. I've found it easier to name the emotion of specific chord transitions. It's been more robust in actual use.

The thing that puzzles me with this is that, while I do understand it is simpler to study chords in isolation first, what I feel when listening to a given chord alone is often very different to what I feel when I hear it in context within a progression, even if that chord is held for quite a long time. Especially when that progression uses borrowed chords. Eg. regular minor chords can go from plain sad (when by themselves) to just "mellow" or even "soothing", major chords can go from happy to "jarring", sustained chords can go either way and go from "tranquil" to either "uplifting" or "brooding" (e.g. how Csus2 sounds in "C -> Csus2" vs. "Cm -> Csus2" is completely different to me), etc. So when I try to stick an emotional label to a chord, that label usually doesn't survive in a progression... At least for me.

I get what you’re going for. It’s a mnemonic device. But all three of those chord examples make me feel anxious. I can’t stand too many crowded notes. None of them give me any sense of emotion besides wanting to spread the notes out. This is why I can’t enjoy most jazz music. The 2-5-1 doesn’t sound resolved to me with the typical jazz flavoring. It feels like they just throw in five notes that don’t sound good, or feel like they belong, to every chord. I even prefer the bare five chord triad over the dominant chord a vast majority of the time. But spread them out a bit, and they don’t clash nearly as much. Anyway, I think this is incredibly useful for some people. But it wouldn’t work for me, because different chords don’t necessarily give me unique emotions, with the exception of the context of the phrase or progression. How chords interact contextually and harmonically gives me unique emotions, for sure, if the chords aren’t over-crowded with notes. You could slam your forearm arm on your keyboard, and it would give me the same exact emotion as those three chord examples.

Wasn't convinced I would be able to do this at first but I got all of them right. Obviously it's a bit easier given only a couple of choices but it's a good demonstration of the technique. It makes sense that when you use music to communicate emotion, you should use emotion to identify the music you hear or write. BTW. I like the new format / content.

Best music related channel on youtube, thank you so much

Great! I’ve been searching for a long time for this. When you compose, you want to create a certain emotion. Therefore you need to know the emotion any kind of harmony creates. Thank you! Please do more of this kind!

Awesome concept, and the songs you chose to convey the chord feelings were spot on.

Great video, Eric!!

Wow, Eric! That's really impressive. I really love the way you talk about harmony and music theory. Wish more videos on the music theory / harmony topic from you!

Thanks so much for this! I've been struggling with recognizing chords for my whole career now; your explanation is so simple yet effective!

This page is awesome. Thank you Eric!

Great video! I've only recently started trying to make chords on my Eurorack. Cycling through a bunch of different chords really made me appreciate what you explained in this video. Associating emotions with chords is a very helpful tool.

The most counter-intuitive and informative video about chord to me so far. Great work! Thanks.

I loved this video, and I hope you’ll do more on this topic!

Best tutorial I have listened on ear training. Thanks! :)

From this terminal amateur's ear, very well done. Reminds me of how Joni Mitchell described her chords.

EACH ONE OF YOUR VIDEOS IS JUST GOLD!!!! edit: pls do more theory videos like this

This is fantastic, please do more

This was excellent! Don't stop the sound design vids, but if you can do these too, that would be awesome!! I like that it wasn't just straight theory, but a way of using it.

Great video man, helped alot

Lots more of this please.

Yes, more of this please!

This is awesome man!

Loved this video! Gonn have to sit down and figure these out out with Minor and other chords too!

Very helpful. Thank you!

Great! Thanks for the video!

Amazing and helpful lesson for someone like trying to learn music. Please create more videos exploring musical sensitivity and composition.

Good stuff. Keep them coming :)

This wisdom is priceless! All the ear training grind don't worth it if you can't associate an emotion with a sound. I should remind it to myself everyday.

So cool, thank you !

7#9 chords are also known as "Hendrix chords" and once I found that out they became instantly recognisable without any effort.

This has completely changed how I listen to music...Thank you!

Thx for the video!

Great video! I think this was recommended to me because I just uploaded a video on ear training. I have been thinking to do a video about chords just like you are doing here, but after seeing this I kinda feel I don't need to, because you pretty much completely cover it here! haha, thank you! you got a new subscriber

this video is amazing this is much better video on harmony or theory than all the videos i saw. always wondered how composer or producer make something beautiful how do they make that sound they must have some kind of basic ingredients that they use and i know that they use this stuff i dont how to use them

New subscriber here. Love the insight and it was presented in a very digestible way. More of this type of content would be awesome and I’d especially enjoy it if you did a video building off of this one exploring more of how the feeling of chords are influenced by movements. As in how the preceding chord or total key/harmonic context effects the way that we emotionally perceive the movement. (I have no answers for this, but I’d love to hear your thoughts on it!) Keep it up!

Wow amazing content keep this up

well done - good pacing good examples - - I'm just a rank amateur but this was inspiring.

When you hit the starwars example.. my reaction was a style shift.. loony toon flavour..😊

Thanks!

I honestly didn't understand what half of this meant. What should be my course of action to understand what choices I'm wanting to make when I want to evocate those impressions??

good lesson

I personally think that it is more confusing and a lot more to remember. In Yoda's theme is much easier to identify the C/D because it is the lydian sound cause by the combination of C and F# which is the 3rd of the D chord. You also have the detective chord whic is a minor chord with major7. I personally found it more useful to give the chords some names rather than make a weird face but that's me...

this was interesting, i wasnt very good at it though, but im also painfully self taught

Very helpful way of conceptualizing chords! What software are you using to display guitar chords? Thank!

For me, melody, rhythm and the sheer tone of the instrument, or the human voice, are the epicenter of the emotions in music. Chords & harmony, for me, are important, of course, but secondary in the way I hear music.

Great, I really loved this video and there isn't so much about harmony

Very good video. I don't really recognize complex chords by the emotion, just by the sound. I remember the sound not the emotion. The emotion comes afterwards. I think a Dmajor over a C has no Cadd9 quality, it has a dominant D7 quality. But you're right, a little of that uplifting feeling is there.

Fantastic video. I love the focus on feel over theory, but what if i cant identify the emotions?

Is it possible to do a longer tutorial on this?

Thanks for this. I'll try it out. Where did you get that shirt btw? It's super cool

I have perfect pitch and even I’m kinda stumped with some of these examples, I can detected them slightly tho so I can generally tell when they’re either dominant seventh, sus or extended. I guess it all comes down to training

Liking your videos! I have a question though... How is the right way to practice to create a unique or replicate a sound? Of course is by practicing, but since I'm new to all things about Synths, I have no clue. Like always, nice video!

Eric, can you create a zurna sound for the Vital synthesizer?

Fun fact: the Major Sevent sharp Nine (e.g. C7#9) is a blues chord. There is rare footage of Jimi Hendrix in a pub playing blues with only that chord. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bJp6gs2W0cidc40.html

It’s very easy to sterilize ear training. Thank you for the reminder to listen with your heart as well as your head

can u do a sound design tutorial on Time - Arca where the instrument plays those chords

Emotion from harmony not only with changes with voicing etc but more so with instrument (pianos are stretch tuned after all, not equal temperament) , timbre (a giant major chord stack on a synth in the blade runner film has a completely different emotion to the same on piano), rhythm, and engineering, and arrangement too though unfortunately. So although your principle is sound (pun intended) this lesson is only really teaching emotional reaction to piano harmony. Also chords in isolation mean very little unless there is no movement as per a minimal piece, much of the emotion comes from the functional harmony of progression over time (again why rhythm is so powerful).

Where can I find that stephon's video?

What is the name of the last music in the end with the harp? Who composed it? Quite interesting

"WAKE THE FUCK UP" 1:40

How does this chord make you feel? *hits us with that D/C7* and daamn it makes me feels jazzy haha

Huh that's interesting! I came to the idea that chords's emotions are tied based on the progression and context, and even the specific extension choice instead of the chord itself in isolation. But that's coming from a self taught pianist with 0 theory knowledge. Also I never thought of studying and recognizing intervals.... I just tried and it's much easier to recognize triads and whole chords with multiple extensions rather than intervals. Well that's one more thing to practice

Eric!! I didn’t know you had a channel as well. It’s been a long time. Hope you’re doing well.

Lots of interesting stuff with great production value! I love hearing John Williams' beautiful harmonies demonstrated to my untrained ears. However, I still feel like this technique is quite subjective. One specific chord in one specific song will cause me to feel all kinds of emotion at the same time. The one in the yoda theme evokes both a soaring mysterious feeling, but also a happy and melancholic/nostalgic one. So I couldn't differentiate between the two chords you demonstrated. On the other hand, when you first demonstrated the "tense" chord, I immediately thought of the New Hope example that you later used. So I definitely recognized the chord, but I don't know if I recognized the feeling or just remembered the sound from the film. I guess my point is that this method can be great, but isn't it too subjective to consistently rely on?

You forgot the James Bond chord 😂😂 Thanks for a very informative vid 😀🎹🎵

To me this makes absolutely no sense. All these chords (the first three) sound distressed and awkward to me (I do hear a difference but not on an emotional level). I'm assuming I am the problem and that this technique is just not meant for me, which is a shame because I had no trouble learning intervals but am currently struggling to achieve a useful level of chord recognition (both in context or when played by themselves) One day I'll find a way to do it tho I hope (and preferably not one that involves memorizing every single possible chord relation because that feels overly complicated but who knows)

🙏🏻👏👏👏😊

I think I just gotta give up on ear training because I have no idea what anyone is talking about 😭😭. I try a few times a year for years now but I still can't even recognise major/minor 3rd intervals better than just guessing

i get what you're saying but this entire thing is SUBJECTIVE and varies from person to person and culture to culture

Epic shirt..

The first chord sounds like a dominant chord with a 13 and #11 in there

It's easier to identify a chord if you know it's one of 3 specific ones rather than one of hundreds of six-note chords, who knew

Didn’t work for me

this makes me feel like there's something actually wrong with me. How am i supposed to feel an emotion from piano notes? They are just sounds. None of them sound "happy" or sad or whatever. I literally got every single question wrong in the video. The b5 b9 chord sounded the most "happy" but still all of them sounded super dissonant to me. They didn't make me "feel" anything. A chord doesn't sound like it's "lifting" or sound like it's "smiling". It sounds like someone is playing the piano.

Is there a chord that expresses the feeling you get after three days of intense constipation and the face you make trying to push a big ball of shit out of your ass ? Cause that's the way I feel about this kind of "music lessons", like a deuce that won't come out, no matter how hard you push. Music as an art form, is facing extinction.

7(#9) is the penultimate stank face chord

I am going to respectfully disagree with the approach here! The master class has one very important prerequisite- ALL OF YOU ARE BUDDING PROFESSIONAL MUSICIANS WITH YEARS OF EXPERIENCE. While I was able to get the chords correct - I instantly said that’s a Dom with a sharp 5 etc, I was only able to that after hours and hours of practice with ear training software. I use EAR MASTER 7 (No they did not pay me however it has been the best thing since sliced bread for developing my ear). Back to the point, while I think associating emotions to a chord helps, nothing beats listening to chords again and again and again and playing them back in some sort of test form till you ace the test! As you know music is a language that must be learned. It is only by continuous repetition we will master the language.

Yes but most modern songs don''t use these chords

Nope, bullshit clickbait. Emotions won't make you "instantly recognize any chord or melody". Plz. Years of training will. Nothing else.

This is dumb