So explain how Western peoples feel sad in minor keys

while Middle Eastern peoples do not, just to mention
one non-universal emotional reaction.

[Just a conjecture]
The western notes are different from the eastern.
Speaking in C-major-centric terms, a just-intoned Ab is 8/5, G# is 25/16. This is a difference of more than 1/3 semitone.
On an equal-tempered keyboard that note is half-way between ie 800 cents.

My conjecture is that the western ear not being familiar with any minor-sixth other than 800 cents hears it as such.
The eastern ear auto-corrects it up to the just-intoned 8/5.
[As I said, just my conjecture]

Rusi

{Stephen}: The Ancient Greeks did not have major keys nor minor keys.  
The 'modes' used by the Medieval European monks were not the same as the 
original modes of the Ancient Greeks.  A great deal was lost in the 
translation, or perhaps it was due to fragmentary sources.

According to Aristides Quintilianus (thought to have lived sometime 
between 1 A.D. and 400 A.D.):

Within the Hypolydian tonos (* = a quarter-tone ascent, c' is middle c)

Lydian scale:  e* f a b b* c' e' e*'

Dorian scale:  g a a* a# d' e' e*' f' a'

Phrygian scale:  g a a* a# d' e' e*' f' g'

Iastian scale:  e e* f a c' d'

Mixolydian scale:  e e* f g a a* a# e'

Intense Lydian scale:  e e* f a c'

These are not the same scales as in Western music.  I don't know Eastern 
music scales.  Perhaps Eastern music is closer to the Ancient Greeks 
than is Western music.

The 'melos' was made up of 3 parts:  notes, rhythm, and lyrics.  The war 
cant melos had it own rules for which notes, heavy syncopation, and 
violent lyrics were to be used.  The sloth or laziness melos had a 
different set of rules, just like the lament melos, the religious melos, 
and the other mele (plural of melos).

Thanks for the discussions,
Stephen Stubbs
Champaign, IL   USA

-- 
“Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”

Benjamin Franklin (American Statesman, Scientist, Philosopher, Printer, Writer, and Inventor. 1706-1790)