Major is happy and minor is sad. Right? (Major and minor in music, that is)

No. It’s all in the context of the music and listeners brain.

You can fill a song with bright major chords and clear melodies, but if the tune’s beat is sticky and overall feel dark, and you spice the whole thing up with lyrics about loss & desperation, you get something that really isn’t happy at all.

The folk music of Balkan – on the other hand – is filled with minor chords and melancholia, but the rhythm in that music is very often so lively, that sadness is the last thing on your mind. (I’m counting out the lyrics here, because I only speak ‘n read Canadian & Cimmerian)

DUMMY IN THE HEAT features a lot of diminished chords & intervals, which are like double minors – two minor thirds on top of another. And the tune’s mood is hardly a sad one.

All in the context, man.

And your brain.