Mildly dissonant chords are preferred more than maximally consonant ones.

What is it about?

The emotional effects of music have been investigated thoroughly during the last decade or so, but the specific role of harmony in creating these emotions has been somewhat neglected. In this study, we asked 410 participants to listen to various chords with piano timbre, rate how they liked the chords and describe what other qualities they perceived in them. The results were striking: the most preferred chords were mildly dissonant, that is, chords that contain tension and a sense of roughness both in terms of music theory and acoustics. Interestingly, musical expertise or music preferences did not seem to affect the perception of the chords: both expert and inexpert listeners liked mildly dissonant chords the most.

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Why is it important?

The results were surprising since in music theory consonance and preference are seen as virtually synonymous. The results however show that the relationship between consonance and preference is more complicated than has been thought. We propose that the perception of single chords is not just about the overall sonority of the chords, but that the individual intervals – the tiny building blocks that constitute a chord – have an important role in the sensation of chords.