minor key

American  

noun

Music.

1. a key or mode based on a minor scale.

2. a less jubilant or more restrained mood, atmosphere, or quality.

   The conversation shifted to a minor key with news of the defeat.

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minor key British  

noun

1. music a key based on notes taken from a corresponding minor scale

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Etymology

Origin of minor key

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

minor key

The mood is melancholic, redoubled by long, drawn-out notes from the strings and minor key piano arpeggios; passages of happiness feel fragile, fleeting, untrustworthy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2023

The catalyst for cinema’s turn from a major to minor key isn’t hard to find.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 23, 2022

The minor key romance “Alone Together” is a modest affair, which credibly depicts the kinds of conversations about relationships that many people were confronted with during the early days of the pandemic.

From New York Times ● Jul. 21, 2022

Even so, he says, Looking High's sepia-toned memories shift from a major to a minor key, "because those clubs are all closed down now and our friends have moved out of Oxford".

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2022

In the same way, all minor keys are so alike that music can easily be transposed from one minor key to another.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones