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This is Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata. Got a minute?

Why do some chords sound sweet but others make you wince¹? Well it appears our ears—or at least the ears of 250 Minnesota undergrads—prefer chords containing harmonically related frequencies, according to a study in the journal Current Biology.

Even a simple note on my guitar has an array of harmonic frequencies. But the frequencies have a special harmonic relationship, which is why you hear it as a single sound with a single pitch.

The chords the students liked best have frequencies with that harmonic relationship too—all the frequencies are integer multiples of a common fundamental frequency. And the researchers say our brains might like these chords because their frequencies resemble those of a single harmonic note.

The students were less fond of Inharmonic chords like [dissonant chord]. But the researchers say it's not that wobbly quality, called beating, that turns us off. It’s mostly because the chords aren't harmonic.

These preferences aren't completely innate² though. Musically trained students found harmonic frequencies more pleasing—they’re huge in Western music. But an ensemble³ of gamelan masters, who play inharmonic instruments like gongs, might beg to differ.

Thanks for the minute for Scientific American's 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.