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minor

minor

25 7.4
A musical key that sounds sad
  • adjective
  • /ˈmaɪnər/
  • Specialized
: menor
  • Many classical pieces modulate from a major key to a minor key to enhance emotional depth.
  • a minor key
  • a minor scale
  • a minor chord

OK, he starts out in AC sharp minor blue scale.

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Examples

  • Have the students start with a D natural minor scale and let them rehearse the ostinato pattern learned earlier.

    Academic text (2001)
  • All right, so this is G minor all at once.

  • Then it goes to E minor, which is then.

  • So have we seen things in minor like with a raised seven?

  • And for... and for those of you in the band who have no idea what's about to happen, this is in A minor.

  • Way over yonder in the minor key

  • Students could learn all of the songs mentioned above in minor tonality or triple meter.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Students should learn to sing rote songs in minor tonalities as well as in both duple and triple meter.

    Academic text (2003)
  • The composer chose a minor key to evoke a sense of sadness in the piece.

  • In music theory, chords built on the minor scale tend to create a more melancholy atmosphere.

Synonyms

in a minor key
vsminor
  • Specialized
1 6.6

Music that uses notes that make the song sound sad or serious

is a single-word adjective rather than the longer phrasal form

Antonyms

major
  • Specialized
21 6.5

A key or scale that sounds bright and happy

Idioms

in a minor key
  • Specialized
1 6.6

Music that uses notes that make the song sound sad or serious

Compounds

56 3.0

A group of sports teams that play below the top professional level

10 3.2

A small point that is not important

minor surgery
  • Specialized
7 3.6

A simple operation that does not need a general anaesthetic and lets you go home the same day

A sports team that plays in a lower-level league below the major leagues

5 4.8

A baseball player who plays for a professional team below the top level

4 4.3

A large peninsula in western Turkey also called Anatolia

4 3.5

A small, less important part in a play, film, or TV show

2 5.9

A set of notes that sounds sad or serious

minor planet
  • Specialized
1 6.4

A small body that orbits the Sun, like an asteroid

minor premise
  • Specialized
1 8.6

A statement in a logical argument that names the subject of the conclusion

A sports team that plays in a lower league below the top teams

minor scale
  • Specialized
1 4.6

A musical scale that sounds sad because some notes are lower than in a major scale

A small amount of money spent on everyday work items like parking or snacks

pectoralis minor
  • Specialized
1 7.3

A thin chest muscle that pulls the shoulder blade down and helps lift ribs when you breathe deeply

minor mode
  • Specialized
1 7.6

A musical key that uses a pattern of notes and sounds sad or serious

minor axis
  • Specialized
1 7.2

The shorter diameter of an ellipse that goes through its center and meets the longer axis at right angles

A small complaint about something that bothers you

1 6.4

A medicine that makes worry and stress less without making you very sleepy

Vinca minor
  • Specialized
1 7.8

A low plant with dark green shiny leaves and small blue-violet flowers that covers the ground

teres minor
  • Specialized
1 8.1

A small shoulder muscle that turns the arm outward and helps keep the shoulder joint steady

minor term
  • Specialized
1 9.6

The word that the conclusion is about in a syllogism

variola minor
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A mild type of smallpox that usually causes less severe sickness and few deaths

Lemna minor
  • Specialized
1 9.3

A small floating water plant like duckweed that grows in ponds

epilepsia minor
  • Archaic
9.9

Short episodes of lost awareness without strong body shaking

minor diatonic scale
  • Specialized
8.5

A set of notes used in Western music that makes a piece sound sad

A day in Judaism when adults fast from dawn to nightfall but can do normal work

minor suit
  • Jargon
6.9

A suit worth fewer points in bridge, like diamonds or clubs

6.3

A mild medicine that reduces anxiety and tension

9.9

A statement in a logical argument that names the subject of the conclusion

8.2

A thin muscle under the larger chest muscle that pulls the shoulder blade down or lifts the ribs

9.9

A small back muscle that pulls the shoulder blade toward the spine and slightly up

musculus teres minor
  • Specialized
8.4

A small round shoulder muscle that pulls the arm toward the body and turns it outward

rhomboid minor muscle
  • Specialized
6.1

A small upper back muscle that pulls the shoulder blade toward the spine and slightly up

Philohela minor
  • Specialized
9.9

A small North American bird with a long bill that uses it to find worms and people hunt for food

Sarracenia minor
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant with yellow flowers and hollow trumpet-shaped leaves that trap insects

teres minor muscle
  • Specialized
6.1

A small upper-arm muscle that turns the arm outward and steadies the shoulder

variola minor virus
  • Specialized
6.7

A milder form of smallpox that kills about one person in a hundred

How Melancholic

somber
  • US
1 4.2
minor
  • Specialized
25 7.4
major
  • Specialized
21 6.5
bright
3 3.8
cheerful
99 1.0

Surface Forms

minor positive
minorer comparative
minorest superlative

Etymology

Minor comes from the Latin minor meaning 'smaller' or 'less', and in music it names a 'smaller' third above the main note, which makes the sound feel sadder or darker, so a minor key gives a more emotional mood.