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I've often heard it said that major chords are 'happy' and minor chords are 'sad.'   That feels about right to me.  

Major and minor are opposites in a sense, and happy and sad are also diametric opposites.  

I've been trying to map out the other chord qualities as they relate to emotion...

I think Augment/Diminished (another diametric set of opposites)  are the best representation of anger/fear that I  can figure.  

But it gets really fuzzy for me when I try to encapsulate stuff like "surprise" or "disgust."   I think some 7 chords really give me a mellow lovey feeling (funk makes me wanna get on up like a sex machine!)  

What have you found?    

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I sort of go along with the happy/sad major/minor idea, although I would talk about bright and dark or relaxed or tense. So much depends on context or culture. For instance, Hava Nagila is based around a minor scale and (for instance) E major, A minor and D minor. It's not generally considered to be loaded with sadness though.

Other types of chords; I think of augmented and 9 chords as cheerful, add9 chords as sweet, major7 chords as mellow. Minor6 chords make me think of fictional spy heroes every time :0)

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There have been studies that show that specific sounds / frequencies and chord structures and progressions do cause similar emotional reactions across cultures. However personally as a songwriter, I see chords (and scales) in music as not neccessarily the source of generating specific emotions or feelings but rather as a platform or device used to amplifiy or reflect a specific emotion I'm trying to generate through a lyric!
Sometimes the feel of music I've created inspires a certain lyric but I wouldn't neccesarilly confine emotion to merely a minor or major key. Rhythm and dynamics are extremly important in conveying emotion! Funk is a classic example of this. Can be sexy in both a major and minor progression. It's the funk in the rhythm!
Communication is the primary object of writing a song and conveying or reflecting an emotion is only part of that.
Sarcasm and satire can be extremely powerful ways of communicating a message and in a musical sense this can be by placing a dark lyric over a happy melodic sequence or rhythm. Alternatively, by placing happy positive lyrics over a meloncholy feel or sad dynamic in a chord progression. The element of surprise or contradiction can make stick in the listeners conscousness.
There are endless possibiliies. I think that is what makes song creation such a wonderful and enjoyable journey . . . not always for our listeners or neighbors / family  unfortunately, but it is what keeps me hooked.

Disclaimer. lol. I'm not saying I'm right here . . . it's just how I think!        . . . I have no hit songs and don't really know if thats what I'm chasing. It might be nice to make a living from it. Then again it might be hell!

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Originally Posted by Andrew Hayward-Bannister:

Sarcasm and satire can be extremely powerful ways of communicating a message and in a musical sense this can be by placing a dark lyric over a happy melodic sequence or rhythm. Alternatively, by placing happy positive lyrics over a meloncholy feel or sad dynamic in a chord progression. The element of surprise or contradiction can make stick in the listeners conscousness.

I was posting on a songwriting forum a few years back. It was run by a guy who was part of a songwriting teaching school. He had a name for this - 'prosody'; harmonising the sound of the music with the sense of the lyrics. He was of the opinion that you shouldn't confuse people by putting angry lyrics to a happy tune, for example. But I don't see why you can't use the mismatch to enhance your message.

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Originally Posted by Martin Giles:

Originally Posted by Andrew Hayward-Bannister:

Sarcasm and satire can be extremely powerful ways of communicating a message and in a musical sense this can be by placing a dark lyric over a happy melodic sequence or rhythm. Alternatively, by placing happy positive lyrics over a meloncholy feel or sad dynamic in a chord progression. The element of surprise or contradiction can make stick in the listeners conscousness.

I was posting on a songwriting forum a few years back. It was run by a guy who was part of a songwriting teaching school. He had a name for this - 'prosody'; harmonising the sound of the music with the sense of the lyrics. He was of the opinion that you shouldn't confuse people by putting angry lyrics to a happy tune, for example. But I don't see why you can't use the mismatch to enhance your message.

I think it happens in pop all the time lol!
Same formula . . . different lyrics! Half the time you don't even know what they're saying!
F*&% I'm gettin' old!
Whats that noise that kids are listening to these days!!!

Thinking further today on the chord arguement and I was thinking about how inversions of the same chord give it a different feel.

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Originally Posted by Andrew Hayward-Bannister:
!
Same formula . . . different lyrics! Half the time you don't even know what they're saying!
F*&% I'm gettin' old!
Whats that noise that kids are listening to these days!!!

Thinking further today on the chord arguement and I was thinking about how inversions of the same chord give it a different feel.