Can someone explain to me *why* we can perceive emotion in music? It's all kind of magical to me how music really is a universal language. (Erm, it is, right?) We can all recognise a happy tune, a tense tune, an aggressive one, and perhaps a contemplative or serene tune.
Why is that?
@JordiGH
I have doubts about the universality of music. Certainly we learn to respond to certain tropes (keys, chord changes, etc) within musical traditions that don't necessarily translate
@derpayatz @JordiGH I think the answer is more complicated. It's a yes and no. There are musical properties beyond keys that can translate well across cultures: business, minimalism, calmness, harshness, softness, rhythm, consonance/dissonance (the last pair is already culturally more dependent), then there are keys and scales that are less likely to translate well. Nuances like microtonality of Indian sitar, etc..
