The Minor Second

Discord, Opposition, Struggle
15:16


Harsh and dissonant, this most discordant of dyads sounds like a fight. Where the major second is close but maintains a distance, the minor second is too close for comfort. These two notes are in each other’s faces—they couldn’t be closer together, and they couldn’t be farther apart.

In a casting, the Minor Second usually indicates some kind of unpleasantness. It doesn’t, however, always lead to or indicate misfortune. Sometimes confrontation is necessary and ultimately beneficial. Struggle, of course, is how we grow.

In the active suit of Brass, the hermeneutic for the Minor Second is battle; in the emotional suit of Strings, anger; in the intellectual suit of Woodwinds, disagreement; in the physical suit of Percussion, disorder; and in the spiritual, holistic suit of Voices, conscience.

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